Japan Overhauls Export Controls to Allow Military Aid to Ukraine, Citing China-Taiwan Threat
Kyiv hopes to benefit from Tokyo's new security exceptions as Japan links Ukraine's fate to East Asian stability
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- Japan has overhauled its export control regime to allow military equipment exports that serve Tokyo's security interests, a move Kyiv hopes to benefit from as Ukraine seeks continued support.
- The policy change maintains controls on exports to conflict zones but creates exceptions linked to Japan's concerns about China's growing military power and the Taiwan situation.
- Japanese territory lies within 110km of Taiwan, fueling Tokyo's fears that a Chinese seizure of the island could drag Japan into conflict.
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"This allows us to talk," Yurii Lutovinov said in an interview at Ukraine's embassy. "Theoretically, it's a very big step forward." While the overhaul maintains controls on exports to conflict zones, it allows exceptions that serve Tokyo's security interests, a caveat Kyiv hopes to benefit from. Japan has linked Ukraine's fate to its own security as it faces China's growing military power. With Japanese territory stretching to within 110km (70 miles) of Taiwan, Tokyo worries that any attempt by Beijing to seize the island could draw it into a conflict. Soon after Russia launched the war against its smaller neighbour in 2022, Japan's then-prime minister, Fumio Kishida, warned that "Ukraine today could be East Asia tomorrow". He approved Japan's biggest military build-up since World War II, a plan Takaichi has accelerated since taking office in October.
