Overview
- Japan’s cabinet and National Security Council approved the overhaul Tuesday, ending a decades-old bar on selling lethal weapons abroad.
- The policy allows case-by-case exports to 17 defense partners, including the United States and the United Kingdom, with NSC sign-off and end-use monitoring.
- Officials scrapped five non-lethal-only categories and kept broad export principles, while leaving room for exceptions under “special circumstances” tied to national security.
- China said it is “seriously” concerned and vowed vigilance, and protests in Tokyo plus recent polls show resistance to exporting lethal arms.
- Defense firms such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries expect new demand, and reports point to used warships for the Philippines as an early transfer.