Japan will ease decades-old arms export rules, the government’s top spokesman Minoru Kihara said on Tuesday, paving the way for the sale of lethal weapons overseas.
- +Japan To Ease Arms Export Rules
She posted on X Tuesday: “Until now, the overseas transfer of domestically produced finished products had been limited to search and rescue, transportation, surveillance, mine countermeasures (so-called “five categories”), but with this amendment, transfers of all defense equipment will in principle become possible.”
She posted on X Tuesday: “Until now, the overseas transfer of domestically produced finished products had been limited to search and rescue, transportation, surveillance, mine countermeasures (so-called “five categories”), but with this amendment, transfers of all defense equipment will in principle become possible.”
Proponents of the policy shift argue that the change should further integrate Tokyo in the international defence supply chain, deepening defence, diplomatic and economic ties with partner nations as regional instability heightens.
But the decision has caused unease among some members of the Japanese public, with critics accusing Takaichi of eroding the proud history of the nation’s staunch pacifism.
