The leaders of Japan and the United States will meet in Washington, D.C. on April 10 to "strengthen the joint production system" for defense equipment in order to ship more arms to Ukraine, according to unnamed officials cited by the Japanese news outlet Yomiuri on March 10.
Japan amended its laws in December 2023 to allow certain weapons transfers back to their countries of origin, paving the way for Japan to replenish U.S. stocks as Washington supplies arms to Ukraine.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will meet in Washington on April 10. The main theme of the summit, according to Yomiuri, will be strengthening defense industry cooperation between the two countries.
The U.S. defense industry is straining to produce enough artillery shells and air defense systems to aid Ukraine's fight against Russia's full-scale invasion. Japan has already begun helping restore American supplies by transferring weapons under its revised laws.
Japan agreed in December to send Patriot surface-to-air missiles to the U.S., allowing Washington to continue supplying Kyiv with the crucially needed air defense systems.
The move represented a significant shift in Tokyo's pacifist foreign policy, which has prohibited international arms exports since Japan's loss in World War II. The change in rules still does not allow for the export of weapons to countries currently at war, so Japan cannot send Patriot missiles directly to Ukraine.
According to Yomiuri's sources, Japan and the U.S. are looking to accelerate their defense production alliance, not only to aid Ukraine but also out of concern for future aggression from China.
At the April summit, Biden and Kishida will reportedly discuss ways to expand the production of parts, and a possible partnership in which Japanese companies would provide regular maintenance and repair for U.S. military equipment.
Japan has contributed around $8 billion to Ukraine in humanitarian and financial assistance since the start of the all-out war, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. The country's constitution still prohibits the shipment of lethal military aid.
Kateryna Denisova
