December 21, 2025

Senior figures from several Japanese opposition parties on Sunday criticized a plan by the ruling coalition to significantly relax restrictions on exports of weapons, warning the move would push Japan down a dangerous path.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, agreed at a meeting on Monday to revise the implementation guidelines of the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology and lift restrictions that limit defense equipment transfers to five noncombat purposes. And they planned to submit the proposal to the cabinet in February next year.

In an appearance on the NHK public broadcaster, Katsuya Okada, a former foreign minister and a senior adviser to the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, criticized the proposed change. He argued that abolishing the five-category restrictions would effectively allow exports of lethal weapons, marking a fundamental departure from Japan's postwar principles.

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