Japan inks deal to acquire former Nippon Steel site for ‘integrated defense hub’

The Japanese Defense Ministry has signed an agreement with Nippon Steel to purchase the company's former Setouchi Works site in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture. This former steel production facility is now set to become an "integrated defense hub" that will house various military and defense-related facilities. These include Self-Defense Forces offices and barracks, a heliport, disaster response facilities, and manufacturing sites for defense equipment operated by private companies.

Minister Shinjiro Koizumi highlighted the strategic importance of this site, which already hosts a Maritime Self-Defense Force base. He emphasized that the acquisition will bolster Japan's national security by creating a "multifunctional integrated defense hub" in the region. The defense chief also stated that the deal will facilitate the ministry's efforts to attract private-sector companies to participate in the manufacturing, maintenance, and research and development of defense equipment.

The acquisition may be part of a broader government plan to revise a law that could enable state ownership of certain defense production facilities. The government's annual Basic Policy on Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform, approved in July, suggests a potential shift towards a government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) model. Under this model, the state would own specific production facilities while outsourcing daily operations to private companies.