Japan Ends Decades-Long Ban on Lethal Arms Exports in Major Security Shift

The policy overhaul reflects Tokyo’s push to strengthen defense ties and counter rising regional threats.

A mock model of an upgraded Type-12 SSM is displayed during the Defence Security Equipment International (DSEI) Japan at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, east of Tokyo, Japan, on May 21, 2025. Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

Japan on April 21 formally endorsed scrapping a long-standing ban on lethal weapons exports, marking a historic shift in its postwar security policy.

The approval by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s cabinet revises the country’s “Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology,” effectively clearing one of the final barriers to Japan’s participation in global arms markets.