Japan put Eritrea as UN arms embargo country group of Conventional Weapon Catch-all

Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry ("METI") issued News Release that they amend Export Trade Control Order ("ETCO") so that Eritrea is included into UN Arms Embargo Countries Group (ETCO annex #3-2 in Japanese legal term). The promulgation date is June 23, 2010, and the implementation date is September 1, 2010.

By including Eritrea as UN Arms Embargo countries group, an exporter in Japan need to apply export license to METI if the end-use is conventional military purpose. The scope of goods is very broad industrial goods except food and wooden items. Please be noted this catch-all scheme is NOT for Weapon of Massive Destruction ("WMD") rule, but under conventional weapon catch-all rule which was introduced in November 2008. The enforcement practice is slightly eased compared with WMD, e.g. "storage" of conventional weapon is out of scope in end-use, while "storage" is controlled end-use under WMD catch-all.

Eritrea is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Sudan and Ethiopia, and have an coastline on the Red Sea. The estimated population is 5 millions. As for trade with Japan, the annual export amount from Japan to Eritrea is approx. 400 millions yen (US$4 millions) in 2007, quite a small amount. The main export item is automobiles, truck and bus etc.

(Source: http://www.meti.go.jp/press/20100618001/20100618001.html )