Editorial: Easing arms export rules threatens pacificist tradition

March 9 , 2026

With the exception of the Global Combat Air Program being codeveloped by the United Kingdom, Italy and Japan, the Japanese government is barred from exporting offensive weapon systems under the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology. Under this policy guideline, Japan prohibits transfers of such systems to nation-states either involved in conflicts or violate UN or other international sanctions. The government can only approve of transfers under careful review and strict protocols ensuring that they are restricted to their intended purpose, while barring re-export without approval.

Recent rumblings from the two members of the coalition government—the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party—have been nothing short of ominous, however: They are proposing to introduce major changes to the guideline, which Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi seems prepared to endorse.

If so, the move would upend Japan’s commitment to peace upheld throughout the postwar era and tar its pacifist standing in the international community.

To date, the only defense exports from this country were search and rescue, transport, early warning, surveillance and minesweeping systems—none of them which are offensive in nature. But the coalition parties are now calling to remove the restriction and include such complete systems as fighter jets, destroyers and submarines, although a number of safeguards remain built into the approval process, including review by the National Security Council comprised of the prime minister and Cabinet. The problem here is that approval is determined by what the proposal terms “exceptional circumstances” should there be national security implications for Japan, although such “circumstances” are left unstated and ambiguous.

Given the proposal’s wide-ranging consequences, Komeito is calling on the government to open the issue to a thorough Diet debate in order to elicit public endorsement.