Rattled by Trump, US allies eye Japan’s biggest arms opening since WW2

InternationalMust ReadRattled by Trump, US allies eye Japan's biggest arms opening since WW2By Reuters -Apr 16, 2026Japan’s imminent easing of arms export rules has sparked strong interest from Warsaw to Manila, Reuters reporting found, as President Donald Trump wavers on security commitments to allies and the wars in Iran and Ukraine strain US weapons supplies. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling ​party approved the changes this week as she tries to invigorate the pacifist country’s military industrial base. Her government will formally adopt the new rules as soon as this month, three Japanese government officials told Reuters. Despite largely isolating itself from global arms markets since World ‌War Two, Japan spends enough on its own military – $60 billion this year – to sustain a sizeable defence industry capable of manufacturing advanced systems like submarines and fighter jets. Among the potential new customers are the Polish military and the Philippine navy, which are undergoing modernization amid regional security challenges, according to Reuters interviews with Japanese officials and foreign diplomats in Tokyo. Defence contractors Toshiba and Mitsubishi Electric  are hiring staff and adding capacity to capitalise on demand, their executives said, providing previously unreported details. One of the first deals Takaichi’s government will likely approve are exports of used frigates to the Philippines, which is locked in maritime confrontation with Beijing in the South China Sea, according to two of the Japanese officials. Reuters is the first to report the timeframe ​of the likely sale, which may be followed by missile defence systems, the officials said. Warsaw and Tokyo can help plug gaps in each other’s arsenals, cooperating in areas like anti-drone and electronic warfare systems, said Mariusz Boguszewski, deputy chief of mission at Poland’s embassy in Japan. “There are some bottlenecks ​that we can overcome having Japan on board,” he added, withou...