Kyiv\u2019s envoy says Japan\u2019s relaxed weapons export policy enables talks on potential military cooperation, including missile defence funding, Nato-linked initiatives and deeper defence tech collaboration amid Russia\u2019s war and Indo-Pacific security concerns.<\/p>\n
Ukraine\u2019s Ambassador to Japan Yurii Lutovinov has said that Tokyo\u2019s relaxation of its weapons export rules could open the door to future discussions on supplying military equipment to Ukraine.<\/p>\n
In an interview with Reuters at the Ukrainian embassy, Lutovinov said, \u201cThis allows us to talk. Theoretically, it\u2019s a very big step forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
The comments come after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi moved last week to ease export restrictions, marking another shift away from Japan\u2019s postwar pacifist stance.<\/p>\n
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The decision has drawn attention as ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the West Asia continue to strain Western defence production capacity.<\/p>\n
While the revised policy maintains limits on exports to active conflict zones, it introduces exceptions tied to Japan\u2019s security interests \u2014 provisions that Ukraine hopes could eventually support its defence needs.<\/p>\n
Ukraine seeks investments for missile defence<\/p>\n
Japan has increasingly drawn parallels between Ukraine\u2019s situation and its own security concerns amid China\u2019s growing military strength.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Shortly after Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, then\u2013Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that \u201cUkraine today could be East Asia tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
He subsequently approved Japan\u2019s largest military buildup since World War Two, a defence expansion that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has since accelerated after taking office in October.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Ukraine falls, it\u2019s going to be a big domino effect,\u201d Reuters quoted Ambassador Lutovinov as saying. \u201cThat\u2019s why the Indo-Pacific and the European continent are inseparable from the point of view of our security,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Takaichi has given no public indication she would support arms exports to Ukraine.<\/p>\n
She told President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in November that \u201cJapan stands with Ukraine\u201d and supported its \u201cefforts toward achieving a just and lasting peace\u201d as soon as possible, her office said in a readout of their phone call.<\/p>\n
In an email, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said that \u201cJapan does not currently intend to transfer arms\u201d.<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
Lutovinov said Ukraine was treading carefully because of the sensitivity of defence exports in Japan.<\/p>\n
More immediately, he said, Tokyo could help fund Kyiv\u2019s development of an air-defence system that would reduce its reliance on US-made Patriot missiles, which are in increasingly short supply.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have all necessary industrial capacities for production. But we need investment. We need funds,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Japan could join Nato arms-funding plan, says envoy<\/p>\n
Lutovinov said talks are also on over Japan potentially contributing to Nato\u2019s Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), a programme that finances the purchase of US-made equipment for Kyiv.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery country can participate in this mechanism respecting its own legal framework. It can be non-lethal weapons as well,\u201d Lutovinov was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s drones, according to a 2025 report by Ukrainian think tank Snake Island Institute.<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
Takaichi\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not the country that would like to just ask. We are the country that is going to provide as well,\u201d said Lutovinov. \u201cThe technology of Japan and experience of Ukraine, if we can put them together, it would be a high-class product.\u201d<\/p>\n
With inputs from agencies<\/p>\n
First Published:
\nMay 01, 2026, 19:04 IST<\/p>\n
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