Japan Approves Scrapping Ban on Lethal Weapons Exports in Major Policy Shift

Apr 21, 2026

Japan's cabinet under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi approved ending the country's postwar ban on exporting lethal weapons including fighter jets, missiles and warships, marking a major departure from pacifist policies introduced in 1967 and enacted in 1976 that limited exports to non-lethal equipment. At least 17 countries will be eligible to purchase Japanese weapons, with Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Indonesia expressing interest, and Australia already signing a $7 billion deal for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to build 11 warships. Recipients must commit to using equipment in accordance with the UN Charter, and exports remain restricted to countries not currently engaged in fighting except under special national security circumstances. The policy shift comes as Takaichi, considered a China hawk, sent an offering to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine honoring Japan's war dead including over 1,000 convicted war criminals, a gesture long viewed as insensitive by China, South Korea and other nations brutalized by Japan during World War II.

Japan's lifting of ban on lethal weapons exports

▪The cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi lifted a ban on exporting lethal weapons including fighter jets.
▪Recipients of Japanese defense equipment will be limited to countries that commit to use in accordance with the UN Charter.
▪Previous Japanese rules introduced in 1967 and enacted in 1976 had limited Japanese military exports to non-lethal arms such as those used for surveillance and mine sweeping.

Eligible countries and defense agreements

▪Japan and Australia signed a $7bn deal that will see Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries build the first three of 11 warships for the Australian navy.
▪Countries interested in buying Japanese-made weapons include Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Indonesia according to Chunichi citing Japan's Ministry of Defence.
▪Indonesia recently signed a major defence pact with the United States.
▪At least 17 countries will be eligible to buy weapons manufactured in Japan under the changes according to Japan's Chunichi newspaper.

Takaichi's offering to Yasukuni Shrine and Japan's pacifist legacy

▪After the defeat of Axis countries including the bombing of Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II, Japan introduced a new constitution renouncing participation in war.
▪Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sent a ritual offering to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on the occasion of its spring festival.
▪The Yasukuni Shrine includes the names of more than 1,000 convicted Japanese war criminals from World War II, including 14 who were found guilty of Class A crimes.
▪The Yasukuni Shrine was built in the 1800s to honour Japan's war dead.
▪Sanae Takaichi is considered a China hawk and sometimes referred to as Japan's Iron Lady.
▪Visits by Japanese officials to the Yasukuni Shrine have long been considered insensitive to the people of China, South Korea, and other countries that Japanese soldiers brutalised during the war.

Perspective of China and South Korea

▪Japan's move to export lethal weapons represents a departure from pacifism that may alarm neighboring countries brutalized during World War II.
▪Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's offering to Yasukuni Shrine signals a nationalist stance that China and South Korea find provocative.

Perspective of Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Indonesia

▪Australia's $7 billion warship deal with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries demonstrates confidence in Japanese defense manufacturing capabilities.

Perspective of Japanese pacifist advocates

▪The lifting of Japan's weapons export ban violates the spirit of the constitution that renounced participation in war after World War II.

Perspective of Japanese defense industry

▪Mitsubishi Heavy Industries stands to benefit from expanded export opportunities for fighter jets, missiles and warships to at least 17 eligible countries.