Landmark Australia deal boosts Japan's defense-exporter profile
SHAUN TURTON
SYDNEY -- After months of heavy lobbying and fierce competition, an upgraded version of Japan's Mogami-class frigate has been selected by Australia for its new fleet of warships, setting the scene for deeper defense-sector cooperation between Canberra and Tokyo.
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Yomiuri Shimbun
20 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan to Export Frigates to Australia: Use Joint Development to Strengthen Foundations of Defense Industry
The high-tech capabilities of a Japanese frigate, equipped with a variety of functions such as anti-ship and antiaircraft capabilities and operable by a small number of personnel, seem to have been appreciated. It is hoped that the first joint defense development project between Japan and Australia will be utilized to strengthen systems for safeguarding maritime security and foster the defense industry. The Australian government has announced that it will accept Japan's proposal regarding a new model of frigates that the Australian navy plans to introduce. The two countries will jointly develop a vessel with enhanced capabilities based on the Mogami-class frigate manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. for the Maritime Self-Defense Force. Australia plans to introduce 11 vessels with a 2030 start of operations in mind. The first three vessels will be built in Japan before construction is transferred to Australia for the remaining eight vessels. Australia narrowed down its candidates to Japanese and German manufacturers in autumn last year and since then has held discussions on which to choose. Australia ultimately chose Japan's proposal because it attached importance to such points as Japan's model being operable with a crew of 90, about half the number required for comparable conventional vessels, mainly thanks to the digitalization of instruments. The Australian military is reportedly facing a serious shortage of personnel. Australia is rushing to enhance its naval capabilities due to a sense of caution about China. In February, the Chinese military conducted live-fire training exercises in waters near Australia. China is also deepening security cooperation with Pacific island nations. The waters connecting Japan and Australia are important maritime transport routes for both countries. The waters around the small island nations can be said to be a strategically important area for Australia. China's behavior, as if it is trying to bring these waters under its influence, is unacceptable. The MSDF also plans to eventually have a total of 24 Mogami-class frigates. Use of the same vessels by Japan and Australia and improvement of mutual operational capabilities will effectively help deter China's activities. There remain issues to be resolved in the joint development plan. Australia is said to want to equip its new frigates with U.S.-made cruise missiles. This will require construction in which the hulls are modified. The Japanese side also will need to smoothly transfer technology to Australian engineers. Japan must make steady preparations for a formal contract to be concluded early next year. This is the first time Japan will export large-scale military equipment. For this reason, some may view this as a shift in the nation's postwar arms export policy, but that view is mistaken. In 1976, the Cabinet of then Prime Minister Takeo Miki decided on a de facto total ban on arms exports. Before then, Japan allowed exports in a limited manner under the Three Principles on Arms Exports established in 1967, which prohibited exports to countries such as those involved in conflicts. In 2014, the government established the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology, marking a shift toward exports with certain conditions. With an increasingly severe security environment, this is an era when it has become necessary to jointly develop equipment and deepen defense cooperation with friendly countries. (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 7, 2025)
Yomiuri Shimbun
2 days ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan, Australia Strengthen Defense Cooperation with China in Mind; Move Expected to Invigorate Japan's Defense Industry
The Australian government decided on an upgraded model based on Japan's Mogami-class frigate because the two countries agreed to strengthen defense cooperation mostly for interoperability, with China's military buildup in mind. The two governments announced Tuesday that Australia will jointly develop the new warships. It is expected to invigorate Japan's defense industry. 'Yesterday evening, I heard from Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles, who said that the [new warship model] was the best option, and we're both happy with the decision,' said Defense Minister Gen Nakatani at a press conference on Tuesday. Nakatani was glad that Australia had selected Japan. In 2016, the Japanese government proposed to Australia that they jointly develop a new submarine model based on the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Soryu-class submarine. At the final stage, France was selected over Japan in a race to win the order from Australia, resulting in a bitter experience for time, Japan was competing with Germany, so both the public and private sectors in Japan were doing their utmost to promote Japan's proposal. 'If Germany would have won the order, Japan would have lost face,' said a Foreign Ministry official. Nakatani visited Australia in November 2024 and directly lobbied Marles. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba also held telephone talks with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in May and told him that Japan was willing to disclose any necessary information. In December last year, the Japanese government set up a joint promotion committee of the public and private sectors to share information on the issue. Chairman Seiji Izumisawa of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., which will manufacture the new model of warships, is also chairman of the joint promotion committee. In late July, Izumisawa and senior officials of the Defense Ministry visited Australia and spoke about Japan's proposal to Australian political and business leaders. They described such aspects as the new model reducing costs by about 30%, as fewer crew would be necessary to operate the ship. The MSDF dispatched the current model of Mogami-class frigates to Australia from February to March, and again in June, to conduct joint drills with the Australian Navy. Australian Minister for Defense Industry Pat Conroy said at a press conference on Tuesday that the Japanese proposal was the clear winner due to pricing, performance and on-time delivery. Top priority A senior Defense Ministry official said the Japanese government regarded selling the new model to Australia as a 'top priority,' as cooperation on security with Australia has become increasingly important for Japan. The number of Chinese military ships now exceeds that of even the United States, and Japan alone cannot respond to China's military strength. If Japan and Australia operate ships using the same system, cooperation among the two countries and the United States, which is a common ally, will be smoother in the event of a contingency. It is also seen as a deterrent against China. Supply and maintenance bases for the new frigates will be built in Japan and Australia. It is expected that the bases will expand flexibility and ranges of operation of the ships. Safety of sea lanes Australia also feels the same sense of urgency. In one incident in February, the Chinese military conducted a live ammunition drill in the sea near Australia, forcing private-sector airplanes to change their flight paths. China has also made economic aid and security cooperation agreements with Pacific island nations, which are located in Australia's sea lanes. Such actions can be seen as China trying to deter Australia from moving north. In Marles' statement on Tuesday, he emphasized that the new warships will help Australia ensure the safety of the country's sea lanes, as well as help the country makes moves northward safely. Euan Graham, senior analyst of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said Japan and Australia are both maritime states located in the southern and northern parts of the western Pacific Ocean and that the Australian government assumes strengthening cooperation with Japan can help deter China. In addition to Australia, Japan and the Philippines agreed on a policy to export old MSDF combat ships and proposed Indonesia to jointly develop surface combat ships. By deepening cooperation with Association of Southeast Asian Nations member countries, in addition to Australia and the Philippines as 'quasi-allies,' the Japanese government aims to build a multilayered countering framework regarding China.
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Japan Times
Australia's warship selection signals Japanese defense industry's arrival
Australia's decision to select a Japanese warship for its next frigate class could prove to be a watershed moment for Japan's defense industry as Tokyo strives for greater military cooperation and industrial tie-ups with allies and partners. Despite challenges ahead, the successful bid will not only serve as a confidence booster, but also support Japan's efforts to become a larger arms provider across the wider Asia-Pacific region, experts say, as the planned sale of upgraded Mogami-class frigates — and its successful implementation — could set a favorable precedent for other countries to consider major Japanese capabilities for their own militaries. 'That Japan now has a major capability export agreement to point to as something of a 'proof of concept' will definitely help boost its status as a serious regional defense-industrial player,' said Tom Corben, a defense and foreign policy expert at the United States Studies Center. This will especially be the case with countries Tokyo is already in defense export discussions with, such as Indonesia, India and the Philippines. That said, other countries may want to see whether Japan can deliver on the ambitious delivery schedule it has set out for the first three Australian frigates, and the extent to which Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) can successfully localize onward production in Australia, before fully committing to any similar deals, he added. The successful bid also highlights how far the Japanese industry has come since its failed submarine bid to Australia in 2016, and how critical close cooperation with the government has become to succeeding on the international defense market. High stakes for Tokyo and MHI Tokyo's interest in boosting military exports comes as maintaining a robust defense industry has been recognized as a matter of national security for Japan, as its defense-industrial capacity must be able to meet a rapid increase in demand to sustain involvement in a conflict, particularly given the current volatile international security environment. Should Japan lose its capacity to develop cutting-edge tech, it could eventually become fully dependent on foreign governments and industries. Observers say that for the Mogami export to become the Japanese industry's envisaged breakthrough, MHI would need to make at least some profit while delivering on time, within budget and with effective partnering with Australian shipyard Austal for eventual production near Perth. 'Working for a customer other than the Japanese Defense Ministry is a big change for MHI, and partnering with another defense-industrial firm is relatively new, too,' said James Schoff, a defense expert at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA. Consistent effort and leadership attention will be needed over the course of the program to make it successful, he added. The Mogami export will mark Tokyo's second participation in a major international defense project without direct involvement from the United States, Japan's sole provider of advanced weapons for a long time, following the launch of the Global Combat Air Program alongside Britain and Italy . Hirohito Ogi, a defense strategy expert at the International House of Japan (IHJ), a Tokyo-based think tank, believes the Indo-Pacific region will see more of such 'symmetrical collaborations' going forward as Washington alone cannot provide all the major weapons to its allies in a timely manner — a development that has prompted Tokyo to expand and strengthen its network of international security partners. The upcoming deal with Australia, Ogi added, could also further motivate other Japanese companies to seek similar opportunities in the future as they gain confidence and seek to overcome their comparative inexperience in delivering on large-capability contracts for customers other than the Self-Defense Forces. Bringing something else to the table Experts point out that to become competitive against other more-established defense exporters such as the United States, Russia, France and South Korea, Japan will need to think through how to make itself as attractive a partner choice as possible. Tokyo could do this in a number of ways, said Corben. This includes offering lucrative technology-sharing arrangements with customer countries, localizing production and incorporating domestic suppliers from the customer country into the capability's supply chain, and ensuring that Japan's own production capacity can reliably meet regional demand right now, not just next decade. Conversely, Tokyo will want to avoid the same capacity constraints, delivery delays and restrictive technology-sharing procedures that have progressively undermined the appeal of U.S. arms sales to many regional countries, even if what the United States has to offer is frequently best in class. A mock model of an upgraded Mogami-class frigate is displayed during the Defense Security Equipment International Japan at Makuhari Messe in the city of Chiba on May 21. | Reuters In that respect, Japan may not always be able to offer the most advanced form of any specific military capability, but it can ensure that what it can offer is more than sufficient in terms of capability, and that it is delivered quickly, Corben said. One of the biggest lessons for Japan going forward would, therefore, be the need to fully understand the operational concepts of customer countries and provide products that can satisfy their demands, with experts pointing to growing collaboration opportunities not only with Australia, but across Asia and with Europe. Part of the cooperation opportunities with Australia could be linked to the partners' growing force posture, for instance, by ensuring that Australian and Japanese shipyards are capable of conducting routine and deep maintenance, repair and overhaul on one another's warships. Ideally, Corben said, there will also be opportunities for best-in-class Australian technologies to be integrated onto the Mogami and potentially shared with Japan for its own fleet. That could include items such as sonar, torpedo design and other undersea warfare capabilities in which Australia has a strong track record, but also things such as unmanned underwater vessels and undersea communications in which Australian and Japanese defense scientists are already collaborating. Long-range and surface-to-air systems could also be another potential area, especially as European countries are keen on acquiring air-defense assets, which could provide an alternative to the U.S.-made systems. 'The Japanese government should permit these deals under the current arms export regulations. And I believe it can, using the category of joint developments and production as it did for the Australian frigate case,' Ogi said. Tokyo's plans to boost cooperation with Europe are already underway, with defense-industrial talks set to be launched soon with not only individual countries, but also with NATO and the European Union as the partners seek to study one another's defense markets and industrial and technological capabilities while looking for areas of common interest. But some say probably the best opportunities for Japan's defense industry lie in South and Southeast Asia, where interoperability with U.S. systems is just as important. Challenges abound Yet while Australia's Mogami selection signals Japan's arrival on the international defense market, experts warn about a number of challenges ahead such as capacity and innovation issues. For instance, Schoff said, Japan's defense industry needs to keep innovating to keep pace with modern defense trends toward more autonomous systems and the incorporation of artificial intelligence and software tools. 'Military platforms need to be upgradable and relatively flexible over their hardware lifespan, but to date, this has not been a strength of Japan's defense industry," he said. Moreover, it's unclear whether there will be an immediate political push to further ease Japan's arms export rules. Naoko Aoki, a Japan expert and political scientist at the Rand Corp., does not foresee an immediate movement to ease the rules further, arguing that this requires a lot of political capital and there is political uncertainty in Japan at the moment. At the same time, Corben doesn't rule out that if demand for Japanese capabilities continues to increase, further reforms not only to Japan's defense-export regulations, but also defense-industrial policies, could be made, 'especially if they can't keep pace with new export requirements.'
