ABSTRACT
The outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 proved to be the most important initial impetus to Japan's future arms production capability as well as to the country's whole economy. The United States (US) used Japan as a large workshop to produce supplies for US troops in Korea. When the procurement boom generated by the Korean War was over and munitions orders dropped, Japan's Ministry for Trade and Industry decided to give financial aid to support Japanese production facilities. The agreement illustrates the extent to which business in Japan realized from the very beginning the importance of arms technology and production for the civilian industry. Under Annex A agreement the US granted Japan licenses for the production, or joint development, of US arms, which are essential to the present Japanese arms-production capability. It has been estimated that the Japanese received some $10 billion worth of advanced technology from the US between 1950 and 1983.
