Pacifist post-war Japan is no more.
Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s capitulation on August 15, 1945, and the instrument of surrender was signed on September 2, aboard the USS Missouri, ending WW2.
Since then, Japan turned its back on the martial aspect of its society and embraced pacifism.
But now, over eighty years later, Japan has scrapped most of its restrictions on weapons exports as it boosts both its own military and its arms industry.
Bloomberg reported:
“The cabinet of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday approved changes to defense export rules that will for the first time since World War II allow overseas shipments of weapons. Previously, companies could only export military equipment for use in operations related to rescue, transport, warning, surveillance and minesweeping.
’These decisions are intended to safeguard Japan’s security and further contribute to the peace and stability of the region and the international community amidst rapidly evolving changes in the security environment’, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said in a press briefing after announcing the decision. ‘At the same time, the government will uphold the fundamental principles of a peaceful nation that have been built over more than 80 years since the end of the war’.”
Hellbound and Down 