Japanese Industry Crisis

Japanese Ministry of Defence, the 6-month analytical work, said the need for reforms in the defense industry to be able to survive the current crisis and increasing foreign competition.

An excellent example of the problems of Japanese industry is the 89th BWP type As the name implies, was developed at the end of the Cold War. Initially it was assumed that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will supply about 300 cars of this type. To this day, is only 68 copies of their number does not allow for reimbursement of expenditures on research and development, or profits for the manufacturer. On the other hand, points to the possibility of Japanese companies, which - if not for export restrictions - might offer to third markets relatively modern IFV a quarter of a century ago.

The report was prepared by the committee on arms production and research and development, operating within the Ministry of Defence. In its creation worked by industry and independent experts.

Japan, after the defeat in World War II, can not lead unfettered military policy, and its safety is largely dependent on a guarantee from the U.S.. Adopted legal provisions preclude such opportunity to participate in combat missions abroad, the possession of nuclear weapons or aircraft, and finally the export of arms. Assumptions were associated with zdemilitaryzowaniem country and became the inviolable rules for most Japanese political class.

Today, however, they begin to be undermined, because of the growing power of China, the nuclear threat from North Korea, as well as the economic crisis. It should be noted that there had been cemented and social attitudes change (pacifism). While the vision of atomic Japan did not agree with the other powers, are not ready for it as the Japanese themselves, relax restrictions on the export of defense industry.

He is one of the strongest in the world and has support in the form of ultra-modern civil industry. Special bets are able to produce almost any type of military equipment, from small arms, the primary tanks and combat aircraft, and ballistic missiles (Japan is one of the cosmic powers).

Unfortunately, the economic downturn and the budgetary constraints of time after the current crisis caused a contraction of the financial resources of the Ministry of Defence of 4.87 trillion yen in 2004 to 4.64 billion (58.7 billion) at present. Due to the fact that the home armed forces are the only recipient of special products, led to the bankruptcy has 102 medium and small businesses - the largest suppliers of subcontractors.

Therefore, the Ministry of Defence prepared an analysis, under the title Towards the formulation of survival strategies , which contains a diagnosis of the situation and proposed remedies. It stated that the continued reduction of the market, increasing technical backwardness, with a reduction in the development of new structures and fragmentation of the industry.

The Japanese government - the first ever created by socialists - unraveled in December last year the export ban, allowing him for supplies and for cooperative peacekeeping missions. New regulations were introduced mainly for the planned purchase of U.S. fighter Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II (see: 42 F-35 to Japan for $ 10 billion ). If not for change, domestic enterprises could not send for the Pacific sub-assemblies, to be fitted to these fighters.

The report of the Committee for defense production and research and development was, however, that it is not enough to compensate for the decrease in the orders of the Ministry. Therefore it was recommended the abolition of export restrictions.

At the same time it was found that Japanese companies in their current form will not be able to obtain significant successes in this field. Decades of isolation have led to a situation where most of the markets is already well utilized . The Japanese would also face competition from increasingly larger conglomerates and corporations. Meanwhile, the industry is fragmented - the biggest players of the internal market is a special company of big civil (eg, Mitsubishi and Toshiba), where military production is only a per mille relative to the core business.

Therefore, the conclusions of the report suggested the one hand, consolidation of the industry, on the other hand - entering into cooperation with large foreign manufacturers, mainly from the U.S., but also with the EU (in the context of the listed France and the UK). Given the preliminary nature of studies, these issues will be further subject to additional analyzes.