Japan updates WMD proliferation control list with 42 new entities

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (‘METI’) has added 42 organisations to its Foreign User List of entities potentially linked to weapons of mass destruction (‘WMD’) development, bringing the total to 748 entities across 15 countries and regions, according to a 31 January announcement.

‘The revised list will come into effect on February 5, 2025,’ METI said in its statement, translated from Japanese. The list serves as guidance for Japanese controls on potential WMD-related exports.

‘The Foreign User List provides exporters with information on foreign countries and regions where concerns about the development of weapons of mass destruction have not been eliminated,’ METI explained.

Under Japan’s catch-all control system, exporters must obtain a licence when shipping to listed entities ‘except in cases where it is clear that the goods will not be used for the development of weapons of mass destruction.’

‘The list has been published since the catch-all control was introduced in April 2002,’ METI noted, emphasising that it is ‘not an embargo list’ but rather serves as ‘a reference for exporters.’

https://www.meti.go.jp/press/2024/01/20250131003/20250131003.html

https://www.meti.go.jp/press/2024/01/20250131003/20250131003-1.pdf