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Japan has a long history of restrictions on defense spending and arms exports. These factors, coupled with its “exclusive self-defense” (senshu bouei) policies, have impeded the development of a competitive and strong defense industrial base. Japan’s 2022 National Defense Strategy placed a high priority on strengthening the defense industry, and since then it has taken steps to loosen the restrictions on defense equipment exports to expand opportunities for cooperation.
One area of particular interest to Japan is uncrewed aerial systems (UAS); the Ministry of Defense has announced a plan to invest JPY 1 trillion (USD 7.1 billion) for UAS development over the next five years. The U.S. Department of Defense shares this interest as shown by the rollout of the Replicator initiative and the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. In addition to military platforms, Japan’s advanced electronics industry has much to offer in the field of subcomponents, represented by electro-optical sensors in this report. These sectors are prime for U.S.-Japanese codevelopment or coproduction despite persisting governmental, industrial, and economic challenges.
This report was made possible by a grant from the Japanese Ministry of Defense.
