Japan Moves to Scrap Limits on Postwar Arms Export
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Cabinet approved the sweeping overhaul on Tuesday, retiring a framework that had confined defense exports to five narrow categories of nonlethal equipment. In its place, a new two-tier structure now draws a clear line between "weapons" — encompassing warships, tanks, and missiles — and "non-weapons," which cover items such as radar systems and protective gear, according to Japanese media.
Under the revised architecture, any decision to export lethal armaments will pass through Japan's National Security Council and remain restricted to the 17 nations that currently hold formal defense cooperation agreements with Tokyo. Transfers to countries actively engaged in armed conflict will generally be barred — though the government has carved out a national security exception clause, affording Tokyo flexibility in extraordinary circumstances.
The new policy also unlocks the transfer of jointly developed weapons to third-party nations, a provision with immediate implications for the Global Combat Air Program — Japan's collaborative next-generation fighter jet initiative with Britain and Italy.
The announcement follows a landmark bilateral defense deal finalized last week between Japan and Australia, valued at up to A$20 billion ($14.4 billion), to co-develop an advanced fleet of naval frigates — a tangible early signal of Tokyo's expanding defense ambitions.
Analysts expect the policy revision to further widen Japan's official security assistance program, enabling broader military support to partner nations as Tokyo recalibrates its role amid a rapidly shifting global security order.
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