2026-04-25 10:30
publication
2026-04-25 10:30
The Japanese government on Tuesday approved lifting a decades-old ban on the export of lethal weapons and military equipment. This decision marks a historic change in the country's post-war pacifist policy and opens the way to the sale of arms on international markets.
– Currently, no country is able to protect its security on its own. To defend peace, it is important to promote the transfer of defense equipment and strengthen the deterrence capabilities of allies, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara.
The amended regulations abolish the restrictions that previously allowed exports only in five categories, including: in rescue and transport. From now on, it will be possible to sell destroyers or missiles to countries that have signed agreements with Japan on the protection of classified information. While arms sales to conflict countries are generally prohibited, exceptions are made “in special circumstances.” They will take into account Japan's national security interests and support for US-led military operations in the Indo-Pacific region. According to NHK, a strict monitoring system has also been introduced, including field inspections in target countries.
The government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi explains this step the most serious threats in decades, resulting from the militarization of China and the rearmament of North Korea. However, the more flexible rules are sharply criticized by the opposition, pointing out to the authorities that the parliament should be notified about the sale only after the transaction has been authorized by the National Security Council.
– If arms are exported without restrictions at the government's discretion, it may undermine the foundations of our pacifist state, said Takeshi Shina from the opposition Center Reform Alliance.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi announced the intensification of arms diplomacy. At the turn of April and May he will go to the Philippines to negotiate the transfer of the decommissioned Abukuma-class destroyers. Manila is seeking to strengthen its fleet amid the ongoing territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea. Indonesia, in turn, expressed interest in Japanese submarines.
China: Japan's lifting of the arms export ban is a rebirth of militarism
China expressed deep concern over the Japanese government's decision to lift a ban on arms exports announced on Tuesday. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said the move undermined Japan's image as a pacifist country and announced that Beijing would “remain very vigilant.”
“Japan's accelerated remilitarization is a fact and reality supported by concrete plans and actions,” the spokesman said at a regular briefing, adding that “many experts express concern that Japan is restarting its war machine.”
Guo emphasized that the history of aggression on the part of Japan required strict limits on its military power, recorded, among others, in the post-war constitution. He warned that “the international community, including China, will remain very vigilant and firmly resist Japan's reckless moves towards new militarism.”
Separately, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asked to comment on Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sending ritual gifts to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, criticized the gesture. He stated that this is a manifestation of attempts to “evade historical responsibility”, and called the temple itself a “spiritual tool of Japanese militarism”, recalling that it honors, among others, convicted war criminals.
From Beijing Krzysztof Pawliszak (PAP)
krp/ap/
Krzysztof Pawliszak (PAP)
krp/ san/
