After an impressive victory in the early elections in February, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan began to implement its election program without any delay.. A special panel of LDP experts approved revolutionary changes to the rules for the export of lethal weapons to third countries.
Until now, there have been restrictions on the supply of defense equipment in Japan. Exports were allowed only within five categories: for rescue, transportation, warning, surveillance and demining services (Ukraine received equipment in three of these categories). It was not allowed to supply equipment to countries at war. New proposals seeking government and parliamentary approval would remove these restrictions. In particular, it opens up opportunities for the supply of weapons developed in cooperation with other countries to third countries and countries at war. Defense equipment will be divided into specific categories, and weapons exports will be allowed to countries with which Japan has defense transfer agreements.. Details, procedures and details will be determined after discussion of these proposals in the government and parliament, but it is already clear that Japan is determined to significantly strengthen its defense capabilities and help countries with which it shares common values \u200b\u200bto do so.
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Ukraine's direct interest in cooperation with Japan in the field of defense should be based on the understanding that such cooperation is possible only on a systematic and clearly defined legal basis. For example, before discussing specific projects, it is extremely important to answer the question of intellectual property protection, to exclude the possibility of leakage of sensitive know-how to countries located on land between Ukraine and Japan. Activities to create an atmosphere of trust should also include a wider range of interaction than purely export-import or even joint production of military products.
Let's try to outline several areas in which Japan can become the main player in Ukraine.
We are united by a sad but objective trend - the population of our countries is declining. For various reasons, but in the near future both Japan and Ukraine will experience a shortage of both labor and those who could join the ranks of the Armed Forces or Self-Defense Forces. This means that priority in the formation of defense strategies and the production of the necessary equipment, if necessary, will be given to autonomous and robotic systems. This is an area in which the Japanese are almost the best partners in the world. The Chinese can show humanoid robots demonstrating kung fu techniques as much as they want.. And it’s a completely different matter - simpler, but more effective solutions that free up human resources without loss of efficiency in industry and defense.. The Chinese army knows how to march well in parades. The question is whether she can look as good on the battlefield. Joint development of automatic systems is a direct common interest of Ukraine and Japan.
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Ukraine has agricultural potential, limited only by imagination and the shortage of modern technologies - equipment, fertilizers, bioengineering. Our agricultural products are definitely not welcome either in the EU or in the USA, but they are urgently needed in Asia and Africa. Japan is one of the countries that has all the necessary components, including a fleet, established contacts and logistics centers, to operate in the food markets of the world. Involving Japan in the strategic development of Ukraine’s agricultural sector, including processing, will increase both yields and product quality. Ukraine should become the bread basket of Asia, and a quality certificate from the Japanese will open all existing markets here. It’s worth trying Japanese strawberries, peach or grapes once to stop arguing about this topic.
At one time, back in the middle of the 19th century, British engineers demonstrated a steam train to the Japanese. This was at the beginning of the Meiji era. Since then, the railway infrastructure has become perhaps the main element of the Japanese economic miracle, a factor that fundamentally changed the socio-economic face of the country. The high-speed train system, a lace of railways that covers almost the whole of Japan in extremely difficult conditions of the mountainous landscape, is amazingly efficient. It is in the field of transport, the construction of tunnels and bridges, underground transport arteries that the Japanese are among the world leaders. Diplomatic language aside, we must say frankly: if our bridges and infrastructure are built by Japanese engineers using the right cement and the appropriate quality of metal structures, they will stand for decades, and pieces of concrete will not fall on cars under such bridges.
The third area that may become strategic is cybersecurity. Today we must admit: Ukraine has more experience and a more effective system for responding to cyber threats, Japan has the best equipment and resources for the development of this extremely important area. It is also worth taking into account that Japan has long-standing and very close ties in this and related areas with Great Britain, which is one of Ukraine’s most powerful partners in the war against Russia. A trilateral UK-Japan-Ukraine cyber alliance would provide a powerful boost to the development of cyber defense capabilities. Of course, such cooperation should not be limited; on the contrary, it should involve strengthening cooperation in the field of security with the Scandinavian and Baltic countries, which are vitally interested in joint efforts to protect against Russian aggression.
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The fourth direction is energy. Japan approves strategic decision to return to nuclear power. The same future obviously awaits Ukraine. Japanese companies, together with partners from the United States, are actively working on small modular reactors and, most likely, will rebuild the existing nuclear power plant infrastructure. We have uranium ore and the need to create a new energy network - both generation and transportation. The dialogue with European and American companies in this area needs to be supplemented with the Japanese vision. Long-term cooperation in the Chernobyl-Fukushima direction has shown the promise of dialogue also in the field of nuclear safety and emergency response.
For many years, it has been customary in Ukrainian diplomatic practice to study and often thoughtlessly apply foreign experience. At some stages, this practice led to a downplaying of the role, if not exclusion, of one’s intellectual potential from the process of developing and implementing solutions. Today it is difficult to say whether the scales would tip towards benefit or harm if we carefully trace this trend since the 1990s.
But here’s how interesting Nippology specialists explain this practice in the Japanese version:. After all, it is well known that the Land of the Rising Sun imported a lot from abroad: first from China, later from Europe and the USA. They compare Japan to an oyster, which, when an external foreign object enters it, first tries to push it out, and if this fails, then isolate it by covering it with layers of special cells.. Over time, these foreign objects turn into incredibly beautiful pearls, which, as you know, are almost the best in Japan. That is, you need to attract external experience in such a way as to improve it (if it is worth it) taking into account your practice, turning it into a pearl, the value of which will be incomparably higher than that of the grain of sand that gave birth to it. Japan's experience in this field, its industrial culture and fanatical attitude to quality would be an important addition to investments and overall projects that could become future pearls.
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For the fifth year in a row, Japan has proven that for this country, values \u200b\u200bare not empty words, but efforts to maintain a rules-based order are not only a national idea, but also a systemic foreign policy vision. We have one possessed neighbor, and Japan has three of them. Therefore, this country must be flexible in cases where it is possible to keep such neighbors in a controlled state through economics or diplomacy. At the same time, the strategic choice in favor of democracy and mutually beneficial cooperation with everyone who sincerely wants it remains unchanged. It is difficult to give an example of another developed country where social harmony, not money, is a priority. And criticism of some aspects of local reality by those who may have lived in Japan, but never understood it, does not make the slightest impression on the Japanese. They take a very long time and very carefully to make decisions, but once they have made them, they will do everything as close to ideal as possible..
A fundamental aspect of Japanese social harmony, which requires the ability to " It is about sensing someone's needs and acting on them without being asked, often described as " Today, the sympathies of Japanese society and the elite are on the side of Ukraine, and this rare chance must be taken advantage of for the benefit of both our countries.
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