TOKYO (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to Japan urged Tokyo on Tuesday to take a greater role in developing, producing and supplying weapons “to enhance our collective security" amid conflict in Ukraine, Gaza and elsewhere.
The United States alone can no longer supply all democracies, Ambassador Rahm Emanuel said during a visit to a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' F-35 fighter jet factory. He stressed the importance of stronger defense industry cooperation between the allies.
The visit came after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's trip to Washington, where he met with President Joe Biden and highlighted Japan's commitment to do more as a reliable partner, especially in defense cooperation.
The countries will now look at what Japan can co-license, co-produce and co-develop, Emanuel told reporters. “It's extremely exciting to bring Japan's industrial capability, its engineering smarts, onto the field on behalf of the alliance," he said.
Japan, due to its wartime past as aggressor, had long banned most arms exports, a principle that left its defense industry with high prices, aging technology and scant government support. A number of Japanese arms makers left the business.
But under the national security strategy that Kishida’s government adopted in 2022, Japan is accelerating its military buildup and increasing its defense budget in the face of threats from China, North Korea and Russia. Japan pledged to acquire what it calls counter-strike capability and purchased 400 Tomahawk long-range cruise missiles.
Japan also has stepped up support for its defense industry and drastically eased arms export rules. It allowed the sale of lethal weapons to countries from which they were licensed and the overseas sales of a fighter jet it is developing with Britain and Italy. The changes have allowed Japan to ship Japanese-made PAC-3 missiles to the U.S. to help replace those contributed by Washington to Ukraine.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s latest report in December, only four Japanese arms manufacturers ranked among the top 100 global companies. Japan also ranked among top arms importers, mostly of costly U.S. arsenals.
But Japanese firms including Mitsubishi Heavy say they expect the country's recent shift will bring significant growth to the industry.
Many U.S. allies have been increasing defense budgets and capabilities following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Hamas attack on Israel. To meet obligations of security, defense and deterrence, “we cannot afford for Japan to be on the sidelines," the U.S. ambassador said.
Mitsubishi Heavy's F-35 final assembly and checkout plant near Nagoya produces six of the Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 jets a year and provides maintenance work for those deployed in Japan. The ambassador called the F-35 “the most modern and capable jet we have in our collective defense and deterrence industries.”
Areas of potential cooperation will be discussed at a military industry council and reported to foreign and defense ministers in both countries, Emanuel said.
In this photo provided by U.S. Embassy in Japan, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, center left, poses with the officials of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Lockheed, during his visit to a MHI’s F-35 fighter jet final assembly and inspection plant in the town of Toyoyama in the Aichi prefecture, western Japan, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (U.S. Embassy via AP)
In this photo provided by U.S. Embassy in Japan, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, speaks during his visit to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ F-35 fighter jet final assembly and inspection plant in Toyoyama, Aichi prefecture, western Japan, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (U.S. Embassy via AP)
Six people have been arrested and suspensions have been issued to seven students who participated in demonstrations at Tulane University, the school in New Orleans said in a message to the university community early Wednesday. One more suspension was pending, officials said.
The university was also looking into reports of university employees participating in the demonstration.
“We value free speech and have supported numerous lawful demonstrations throughout this year,” the university said in the statement. “But we remain opposed to trespassing, hate speech, antisemitism and bias against religious or ethnic groups.”
Four buildings on campus would remain closed Wednesday as the demonstration continued, with classes scheduled in those buildings going remote, officials said.
When several dozen protesters camped in about a dozen small tents on a grassy area near an administration building Monday, police “moved in immediately to attempt to stop the encampment,” the administration said Tuesday. There were arrests and students were suspended after a confrontation with police Monday and the Students for a Democratic Society organization also was suspended, the university said.
Currently:
— Police clear pro-Palestinian protesters from Columbia University while clashes break out at UCLA
— Student protesters reach a deal with Northwestern University that sparks criticism from all sides
— Trump’s comparison of student protests to Jan. 6 is part of effort to downplay Capitol attack
Here's the latest:
Dueling groups of protesters clashed Wednesday at the University of California, Los Angeles, grappling in fistfights and shoving, kicking and using sticks to beat one another.
Hours earlier, police carrying riot shields burst into a building at Columbia University that pro-Palestinian protesters took over and broke up a demonstration that had paralyzed the school while inspiring others.
After a couple of hours of scuffles between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli demonstrators at UCLA, police wearing helmets and face shields formed lines and slowly separated the groups. That appeared to quell the violence.
Police have swept through campuses across the U.S. over the last two weeks in response to protests calling on universities to stop doing business with Israel or companies that support the war in Gaza. There have been confrontations and more than 1,000 arrests. In rarer instances, university officials and protest leaders struck agreements to restrict the disruption to campus life and upcoming commencement ceremonies.
Officers with the New York Police Department arrest pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. The protesters had seized the administration building, known as Hamilton Hall, more than 20 hours earlier in a major escalation as demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war spread on college campuses nationwide. (Marco Postigo Storel via AP)
Officers with the New York Police Department arrest Pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. The protesters had seized the administration building, known as Hamilton Hall, more than 20 hours earlier in a major escalation as demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war spread on college campuses nationwide. (Marco Postigo Storel via AP)
Officers with the New York Police Department raid the encampment by pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. The protesters had seized the administration building, known as Hamilton Hall, more than 20 hours earlier in a major escalation as demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war spread on college campuses nationwide. (Marco Postigo Storel via AP)
Officers with the New York Police Department raid the encampment by pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. The protesters had seized the administration building, known as Hamilton Hall, more than 20 hours earlier in a major escalation as demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war spread on college campuses nationwide. (Marco Postigo Storel via AP)
Pro-Palestianian protesters gather near a main gate at Columbia University in New York, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, just before New York City police officers cleared the area after a building was taken over by protesters earlier in the day. The building and a tent encampment were cleared during the operation. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
