Arming Japan

Despite its Peace Constitution and close security ties to the United States, Japan designs and produces an extensive array of high-tech missiles, tanks, warships and aircraft. As much as these weapons are a testimony to the advancement of Japanese technology, they are also powerful symbols of the potential for Japanese political and military self-reliance. Yet, despite all of the advanced military hardware, Japan has not developed an autonomous military-industrial complex in the post-World War II period.