Japan Loosens Arms Export Rules in Break from Post-WW2 Pacifism

深井洋平/AP

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Japan has relaxed decades-old restrictions on its arms exports, clearing the way for it to sell weapons to more than a dozen countries, the country's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced on Tuesday, 21 April 2026.

The announcement on Tuesday marks a milestone in Tokyo's shift away from the pacifism that has characterised its post-war defence policy. It also comes at a time of heightened tensions in the region.

Restrictions that previously limited arms exports to five categories—rescue, transport, warning, surveillance and minesweeping—will be lifted. Under the revised policy, Japan will be able to export lethal weapons to the 17 countries with which it maintains defence agreements, including the United States and the United Kingdom.

A ban on arms sales to countries involved in conflict will stay. But authorities say they will allow for exceptions "in special circumstances".

"In an increasingly severe security environment, no single country can now protect its own peace and security alone," Prime Minister Takaichi wrote on X on Tuesday.

However, she also said there was "absolutely no change in our commitment to upholding the path and fundamental principles we have followed as a peace-loving nation for over 80 years since the war".

"Under the new system, we will strategically promote equipment transfers while making even more rigorous and cautious judgments on whether transfers are permissible," she wrote.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said in a press briefing that the move was "intended to safeguard Japan's security and further contribute to the peace and stability of the region".

China has said it is "seriously concerned" about what it described as Japan's "reckless militarisation".

"China will remain highly vigilant and resolutely opposed [to the move]," Beijing's foreign ministry said in a routine media briefing on Tuesday.

Japan’s defence posture was enshrined in its post-Second World War constitution in 1947, which renounces war as a sovereign right and states that the country will never maintain military forces with war potential.

For decades, pacifism has been a defining feature of Japan’s national identity, although this stance has gradually evolved in response to changing security conditions.

In 2014, then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe eased long-standing restrictions on arms exports, allowing Japan to jointly develop defence equipment with allies and expand access for its defence industry to international markets and advanced technologies.

Later, in 2023, then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida further expanded the policy by permitting the export of finished lethal weapons for the first time since the end of the Second World War.

Current political discussions have also included proposals for constitutional revision. Prime Minister Takaichi has expressed support for revising Japan’s pacifist constitution, although details remain limited. Observers expect any potential changes would likely involve amendments to Article 9, which formally renounces war.

Source: Reuters



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