ABSTRACT
Japan is the world's second strongest economic power. Japan achieved the status within a relatively short time thanks to—among other factors—highly efficient and cost effective production technologies and organisation smooth relations between labor and management on the one side, and industry and government on the other. In the Japanese specialist literature arms production is discussed almost exclusively by liberal and leftist writers. Developments on the political, economic and technological level, however, warrant closer attention to Japan's activities in the sector because they have a marked impact on foreign interests. The electronic revolution has brought Japan closer to arms-related production. The lure of arms production has become very tempting for Japan's industry. Various forces are pushing an increasing number of Japanese companies either to enter arms-related sectors or to increase their stakes in these sectors. A famous example of the latter case is a Japanese-developed paint that protects against electronic waves in order to guarantee better TV reception in high-rise buildings.
