TOKYO — Japan on Tuesday endorsed scrapping a ban on lethal weapons exports, a major change of its postwar pacifist policy as the country seeks to build up its arms industry and deepen cooperation with defense partners.
The approval by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Cabinet of the new guideline clears a final set of hurdles for Japan's postwar arms sales and facilitate its future sale of weapons such as a next-generation fighter jet and combat drones.
The move comes as the country accelerates its military buildup in the face of growing security challenges in the region. While the change of policy met with China's criticism, it has been largely welcomed by Japan's defense partners like Australia and attracted interests from Southeast Asia and Europe.
Opponents say the change violates Japan's pacifist constitution and will increase global tensions and threaten the safety of the Japanese people.
The new policy would "ensure safety for Japan and further contribute to the peace and stability in the region and the international society as the security environment around our country rapidly changes," Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters. "The government will strategically promote defense equipment transfer to create a security environment that is desirable for Japan and to build up the industrial base that can support fighting resilience."
From helicopter and radar to fighter jet, destroyer and missile
Japan had long prohibited most arms exports under its post-World War II pacifist constitution. It has made recent changes due to rising global and regional tensions, but exports were limited to five areas: rescue, transport, alert, surveillance and minesweeping.
The new guideline scraps those limits and allows the export of equipment such as fighter jets, missiles and destroyers — a major change from existing exports such as flak jackets, gas masks and civilian-use vehicles Japan has sent to Ukraine and intelligence radar sold to the Philippines.
The export, for now, will be limited to 17 countries that have signed defense equipment and technology transfer agreements with Japan. They also must be approved by the National Security Council and the government will monitor how the weapons are managed afterward.
In principle, Japan still will not export lethal weapons to countries at war.
In 2014, Japan began to export some non-lethal military supplies, and in December 2023 it approved a change that would allow sales of dozens of lethal weapons and components that it manufactures under licenses from other countries back to the licensors such as the United States.
An earlier easing in 2023 was to clear the way for Japan to sell U.S.-designed Patriot missiles to America to make up for munitions that Washington has sent to Ukraine. The revision was also to pave the way for Japan to jointly develop a sixth-generation fighter jet with Britain and Italy.
In its biggest deal ever, Japan formalized a deal last week to deliver the first three of a $6.5 billion fleet of Japanese-designed frigates for the Australian navy and jointly build eight others in that country.
Arms industry for growth strategy
Due to its wartime past, Japan adopted a postwar constitution that limits its military to self-defense and long maintained a strict export control on arms exports, while heavily relying on U.S. military presence in the region and imports of expensive American arsenals.
It's domestic defense industry had long catered to only the Self-Defense Force and Defense Ministry, making it an unattractive sector that didn't help profits or corporate image. Dozens of contractors had withdrawn.
That is changing. Japan has accelerated a buildup of its military and defense industry to play more offensive roles in the face of threats from China, North Korea and Russia. It has increased funding for startups and academic researches. Japan is also aiming to achieve a defense system using a network of drones for surveillance and combat against threats to defend southwestern islands.
Japan also has increasingly added combat roles in multinational military drills and is participating in a joint exercise with the U.S. and the Philippines in which it was to fire a T88 missile.
The defense industry is one of 17 strategic areas for growth under the Takaichi government, a growing number of major companies and startups are showing interest, especially in dual-use goods and drones.
Outlook for potential customers
Australia on Saturday signed with Japan for a delivery of three of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' upgraded Mogami-class frigates and jointly produce eight others and welcomed Tokyo's new policy as a move to deepen their defense partnership.
"The relaxation of these controls is going to be really important to developing the seamless defense industrial base," Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles, told a joint news conference after the signing ceremony with his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi.
New Zealand has also showed interest in the Japanese frigates. Several other countries, including the Philippines and Indonesia, have also expressed interests in Japanese defense equipment, Koizumi said.
MHI, accelerating mass-production of long-range missiles for deployment that started in southern Japan in March, has said it expects positive outlook from the booming defense contracts and plans a significant staffing increase in missile and shipbuilding sectors.
Last week, a group of 30 NATO representatives visited Japan to discuss further deepening of their ties as the U.S. commitment to its alliance has shaken by U.S. President Donald Trump. They visited a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Electric Corp., which is part of the trilateral fighter jet project and also known for its satellite technology.
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