As it stands, exports of Japanese-made defence equipment and technology are limited to five non-combat categories \u2013 rescue, transport, warning, surveillance and minesweeping.<\/p>\n
But, boosted by a sweeping election victory<\/a> in February, Ms Takaichi\u2019s government has removed these restrictions.<\/p>\n This opens sales of lethal systems, such as destroyers and missiles, to 17 countries which already have defence co-operation agreements with Tokyo, including the UK. Some restrictions will continue, including the sale of lethal weapons to countries in active combat.<\/p>\n \u201cIn an increasingly severe security environment, no single country can now protect its own peace and security alone, and partner countries that support each other in terms of defence equipment are necessary,\u201d said Ms Takaichi.<\/p>\n Buoyed by a landslide election victory, Sanae Takaichi, the Japanese prime minister, plans to open sales of lethal systems – Kiyoshi Ota\/Reuters<\/p>\n William Yang, a senior analyst on north-east Asia at the International Crisis Group think tank, said the change \u201cmarks a fundamental pivot away from the long-standing pacifist constitution that Japan has embraced since the end of World War Two\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t underplay how important this will be,\u201d he said. \u201cOver the last few decades, Japan has been secluded from the global defence and arms supplies markets, and cautious about ensuring it sticks to the pacifist approach in its constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n But Tokyo\u2019s perception of security threats has changed. China\u2019s maritime expansion<\/a> across Asia has set off alarm bells, while the United States\u2019 capability to maintain a defence posture in the continent has been thrown into doubt by ongoing conflicts elsewhere.<\/p>\n \u201cJapan sees a need to take a more proactive role to ensure the security and safety of its immediate neighbourhood… and to make sure that like-minded allies can stay on track with their military modernisation efforts,\u201d said Mr Yang.<\/p>\n Reports suggest that one of the first deals likely to be approved by the Takaichi government will be with the Philippine navy, which regularly confronts Beijing in the South China Sea. It is set to purchase used frigates, possibly followed by missile defence systems.<\/p>\n Japanese media outlets have reported that Indonesia and Vietnam are also interested in similar purchases.<\/p>\n The government has pushed the rules already. On Saturday, Tokyo also signed a landmark $6bn (\u00a34.5bn) deal with Australia to supply 11 Mogami-class warships<\/a> \u2013 advanced stealth frigates equipped with a potent array of weapons. It is Japan\u2019s largest defence contract in the post-war era.<\/p>\n \u201cThe security environment forced the issue, and the domestic politics finally caught up,\u201d said Andrew Koch, the founder of Nexus Pacific, a Tokyo-based defence-industry advisory.<\/p>\n However, he added that the policy had been gradually shifting for years. Efforts to ease the rules began with Shinzo Abe, the late prime minister and Ms Takaichi\u2019s mentor, while the first postwar lethal export took place in December 2023, when Patriot missiles were sent back to the US.<\/p>\n \u201cEach piece on its own looks incremental,\u201d Mr Koch told The Telegraph. \u201cTaken together, Japan has stopped being a consumer of security and is poised to become a producer of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Japan is re-positioning itself as a producer, rather than a consumer, of security – The Asahi Shimbun\/Getty Images<\/p>\n There is already strong interest from Asia and beyond. Masahiko Arai, a senior vice-president at Mitsubishi Electric\u2019s defence unit, told Reuters that \u201coffers are coming from everywhere\u201d, and the company has been adding staff in London and Singapore to facilitate defence exports.<\/p>\n The government has also argued that opening up the defence industry \u2013 which has until now been reliant on domestic spending \u2013 could help boost economic growth. Mr Arai said Mitsubishi expected defence sales to triple to roughly $3.8bn (\u00a32.8bn) by 2031.<\/p>\n \u201cGlobally, the next big muscle movement in allied deterrence will be building industrial capacity and supply chains that don\u2019t run through China,\u201d said Mr Koch. \u201cFor both of those, Japan becomes an indispensable ally… the harder question is whether Japan\u2019s industrial base can actually scale fast enough to matter in the timeframe deterrence requires.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Yang added: \u201cIt\u2019s not only just traditional US allies in Asia looking for Japan as an alternative supplier of advanced weapons systems. European countries are also looking to Japan because of the same backlog in the US industrial pipeline, and the US capacity to supply much-needed weapons.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Iron Lady\u2019 also eyes constitutional change<\/p>\n![\"Buoyed](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/006187c151faef98ab635dc0b8b9b616.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/88e22b79a0fa9cb80c111a7d36120639.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n