India welcomes Japan scrapping its lethal weapons exports policy

India welcomes Japan's move to lift its ban on lethal weapons exports, signalling deeper defence ties and stronger Indo-Pacific security cooperation amid rising regional tensions

India on Thursday welcomed Japan’s decision to scrap a ban on lethal weapons exports. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said defence and security cooperation forms an important pillar of the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership.

 

The Japanese Cabinet, led by the country’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, revoked the ban on lethal weapons exports. Japanese media said the move marked a major change in Tokyo’s post-war pacifist policy as it sought to build up its arms industry amid worries over Chinese and North Korean aggression. The new guideline paves the way for arms sales, including Japanese-developed warships, combat drones, and other weapons.

 

 

At the MEA’s weekly media briefing here on Thursday, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “India welcomes Japan’s Review of the Three Principles on Transfer of Defence Equipment and Technology.”

 

“As part of the Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation between India and Japan, both sides have committed to increase practical cooperation in the interest of their national security and continued economic dynamism,” Jaiswal said. These efforts include promotion and facilitation of technological and industrial collaboration between government entities and private sector stakeholders for resilience in sectors critical to national security, the MEA spokesperson said.

 

India and Japan collaborate under the Quad grouping. The India-Japan defence and security partnership, key to bilateral ties, is driven by a shared strategic outlook and commitment to Indo-Pacific peace and stability.

 

Key India-Japan agreements include the 2008 Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation, the 2014 agreement on defence exchanges, and the 2015 pacts on defence equipment transfer and protection of classified information. The 2018 Implementing Arrangement deepened naval cooperation, and the Reciprocal Provision of Supplies and Services (RPSS) agreement was signed in September 2020.

 

In November 2024, India and Japan signed a memorandum of intent for co-developing the UNICORN mast for Indian Navy ships on November 15, 2024. The countries hold regular defence ministerial meetings and other high-level exchanges. The Army chiefs of the two countries have made reciprocal visits in the recent past, and the two defence forces hold joint exercises.

 

Japan has increased its spend on defence to 2 per cent of its gross domestic product for manufacturing next-generation fighter jets, submarines, destroyers, and missile technology. “No single country can now protect its own peace and security alone, and partner countries that support each other in terms of defence equipment are necessary,” the Japanese Prime Minister said in a post on X on Tuesday.

 

The US, Australia, and the Philippines have welcomed the change in Japan’s policy on weapons exports, while China has criticised it. For now, such exports will be limited to 17 countries that have signed defence equipment and technology transfer agreements with Japan.