Kyiv’s envoy says Japan’s relaxed weapons export policy enables talks on potential military cooperation, including missile defence funding, Nato-linked initiatives and deeper defence tech collaboration amid Russia’s war and Indo-Pacific security concerns.

Ukraine’s Ambassador to Japan Yurii Lutovinov has said that Tokyo’s relaxation of its weapons export rules could open the door to future discussions on supplying military equipment to Ukraine.

In an interview with Reuters at the Ukrainian embassy, Lutovinov said, “This allows us to talk. Theoretically, it’s a very big step forward.”

The comments come after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi moved last week to ease export restrictions, marking another shift away from Japan’s postwar pacifist stance.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD

The decision has drawn attention as ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the West Asia continue to strain Western defence production capacity.

While the revised policy maintains limits on exports to active conflict zones, it introduces exceptions tied to Japan’s security interests — provisions that Ukraine hopes could eventually support its defence needs.

Ukraine seeks investments for missile defence

Japan has increasingly drawn parallels between Ukraine’s situation and its own security concerns amid China’s growing military strength.

With Japanese territory located as close as 110 km (70 miles) from Taiwan, Tokyo has expressed concern that any attempt by Beijing to seize the island could potentially pull Japan into a regional conflict.

Shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, then–Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that “Ukraine today could be East Asia tomorrow.”

He subsequently approved Japan’s largest military buildup since World War Two, a defence expansion that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has since accelerated after taking office in October.

“If Ukraine falls, it’s going to be a big domino effect,” Reuters quoted Ambassador Lutovinov as saying. “That’s why the Indo-Pacific and the European continent are inseparable from the point of view of our security,” he added.

Takaichi has given no public indication she would support arms exports to Ukraine.

She told President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in November that “Japan stands with Ukraine” and supported its “efforts toward achieving a just and lasting peace” as soon as possible, her office said in a readout of their phone call.

In an email, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said that “Japan does not currently intend to transfer arms”.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD

Like other countries eyeing Japanese military gear, Ukraine would need to conclude a defence and equipment technology transfer agreement with Tokyo. Japan has made such agreements with 18 countries including Germany, Australia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Lutovinov said Ukraine was treading carefully because of the sensitivity of defence exports in Japan.

More immediately, he said, Tokyo could help fund Kyiv’s development of an air-defence system that would reduce its reliance on US-made Patriot missiles, which are in increasingly short supply.

“We have all necessary industrial capacities for production. But we need investment. We need funds,” he said.

Japan could join Nato arms-funding plan, says envoy

Lutovinov said talks are also on over Japan potentially contributing to Nato’s Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), a programme that finances the purchase of US-made equipment for Kyiv.

The initiative has already provided more than $4 billion worth of equipment and munitions, with Australia and New Zealand joining last year as the first non-Nato countries to participate.

“Every country can participate in this mechanism respecting its own legal framework. It can be non-lethal weapons as well,” Lutovinov was quoted as saying.

Japanese firms could help Ukraine diversify the sources of electronics and micro-components it needs for the thousands of drones it has deployed on the front lines, he said. Chinese-made components have historically dominated Ukraine’s drones, according to a 2025 report by Ukrainian think tank Snake Island Institute.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD

Behind Lutovinov in the embassy reception room sat a Vampire bomber drone built by Skyfall, a leading Ukrainian manufacturer of low-cost drones that says it now has enough production capacity to export.

Takaichi’s administration plans to unveil a defence strategy and military procurement plan this year that is expected to call for a significant increase in the air, sea and land drones of the kind that Kyiv has used to repel Russian attacks.

“We are not the country that would like to just ask. We are the country that is going to provide as well,” said Lutovinov. “The technology of Japan and experience of Ukraine, if we can put them together, it would be a high-class product.”

With inputs from agencies

First Published:
May 01, 2026, 19:04 IST

HomeWorldUkraine eyes potential Japanese arms supply talks as Tokyo eases export rules: ReportEnd of Article