Japan scraps ban on lethal weapons exports

By  News On Air   Apr 21, 2026

Japan today scrapped a ban on lethal weapons exports, a major change in its postwar pacifist policy as the country seeks to build up its arms industry amid worries over Chinese and North Korean aggression. The approval by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Cabinet of the new guideline clears a final set of hurdles for many arms sales, including Japanese-developed warships, combat drones and other weapons. The Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, Minoru Kihara, said that the new policy will 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. Japan has long prohibited most arms exports under its post-World War II pacifist constitution. It has made recent changes because of rising global and regional tensions, but exports were limited to five areas: rescue, transport, alerts, surveillance and minesweeping. The new guidelines scrap those limits and allow the export of equipment such as fighter jets, missiles and destroyers. That’s a major change from existing exports such as flak jackets, gas masks and civilian-use vehicles that Japan has sent to Ukraine and intelligence radars sold to the Philippines.