ABSTRACT
A particularly striking example of the unclear definition of arms export guidelines and the eagerness of Japanese exporters to trade is the 80,000 t lift capacity floating dry dock that was exported to the Soviet Union by Ishikawajima Harima Heavy Industries in 1978. Japanese arms exports that fall within the gray areas also include semifinished goods, products that received wide attention when the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper disclosed in January 1981 the sale of semi-finished trench mortar barrels to South Korea between 1976 and 1979. Japanese arms are increasingly exported through joint production schemes with foreign companies. The incentives for arms sales by Japan's export-orientated companies seem to be overwhelming: because domestic procurement is so low and no economies of scale are possible, the export of arms would be an ideal solution. Despite many uncertainties and obstacles, at least a part of Japan's arms producers are interested in expanding the exchange of arms technology to other countries.
