Japan in April 2026: the most important developments in security
Japan's security policy changed course in April 2026. On April 21 the government scrapped its ban on lethal weapons exports, removing most of the limits on arms sales that had applied since the Second World War and opening the way for Japan's defense industry to enter the global arms market. Three days earlier, Japan and Australia had signed a multibillion-dollar deal for stealth frigates, Japan's largest postwar defense export; reports put the total of the contracts at about 7 billion dollars, and Japan's Mogami-class frigate is seen as a template for further warship sales. Japan also explored joint missile and drone production with Australia, signed the first industry contract with the United Kingdom and Italy for their joint fighter jet, and drew interest from Canada in that project. China's foreign ministry voiced grave concern and called on the world to be vigilant against what it called Tokyo's neo-militarism.
Relations with China stayed tense. Beijing called a Japanese destroyer's passage through the Taiwan Strait on April 17 a deliberate provocation, and the Chinese navy sent warships to the Pacific for drills and sailed past the Okinawa islands. China also objected to Japan's deployment of long-range missiles. For the first time Japan took full part in the US-Philippine Balikatan exercise. The Chinese Embassy in Tokyo said it had received two terrorist threats in March, and a man was rearrested over a trespass at the embassy.
The war involving Iran weighed on Japanese planning. French, Omani and Japanese vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz in early April, Japan said it was closely monitoring US plans for a blockade, and by April 25 it was assessing whether to send minesweepers. Iran released several Japanese nationals on April 7, while Japan's Tomahawk missile order was delayed because of US use of the weapons in Iran. North Korea fired ballistic missiles on April 18 and 19, and none reached Japan. Russia reacted sharply to a Japan-Ukraine drone deal.
At home, three Self-Defense Forces members died in an explosion during training on April 21, and Japan planned to send 1,400 troops to large drills.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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