Japan Snubs Homegrown Weaponry to Buy From the U.S.
- Abe’s higher defense spending helps U.S. more than local firms
- Many Japanese military contractors are quitting the industry
Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
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While there’s little prospect that Japanese consumers will ever buy enough American cars to please Donald Trump, the Abe government’s record spending on defense is shaping up as a bright spot in bilateral trade for the U.S. president.
Japan’s purchases through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program represent 16 percent of all non-personnel costs for the nation’s self defense forces so far this year, more than double the level in 2014, according to calculations by Bloomberg based on government data.