The government made a landmark decision earlier this year to permit the export of finished defense equipment arising from international joint development projects to third-party countries.
Although the approval will be limited, for the time being, to the next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed and manufactured by Japan, Britain and Italy, the decision marks a noteworthy evolution in Japan's national security strategy, paving the way for the direct transfer of lethal weaponry to third countries.
In a related development, parliament gave the nod in early June to a treaty to set up an intergovernmental organization managing the three-party joint development project, called the Global Combat Air Program.