TOKYO: Japanese technology is finding its way into Russian weapons that are used in the war against Ukraine, experts at a press conference in Tokyo said on Wednesday.

Olena Yurchenko, a senior analyst at the non-governmental Economic Security Council of Ukraine speaking by Zoom from Ukraine, said Japanese technologies find their way to the Russian Federation and contribute to its war machine. 

“The importance of this is not the technology or the weaponry itself,” she explained. “Rather, this is something which facilitates its production. The technology I am talking about is CNC machine tools – computer numerically controlled tools which are the bedrock of industrialization and production around the world.”

Yurchenko says few countries produce high-grade CNC machines, with Germany and Japan the world leaders.

“CNC machines can be used for various purposes,” Yurchenko said. “But to put it simply, if you are an arms dealer or arms producer like Russia, you cannot produce a single piece of weaponry without CNC machine tools. But to make it more specific, we are talking about missile parts, drone parts, critical microelectronics.”

Despite controls on their export, Russia has found it easy to evade sanctions and is a huge importer of the machines, which it uses mainly to produce weapons. Yurchenko says Russia can find imports via China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Turkey thanks to the lenient enforcement of export controls. She also believes that states such as Iran and North Korea can easily bypass restrictions.

Ukrainian website ZN,UA reported that Japanese Tsugami tools were channeled to Russia through China. It also said Fanuc products were routed through Hong Kong, and Kitanura items were imported through a Russian hub in Turkey.