Japan to Consider Transferring Patriot Missiles to Ukraine

Japan plans to resume discussions on providing or selling weapons to Ukraine, specifically interceptor missiles for Patriot systems.

Itsunori Onodera, a member of the Japanese Diet from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and former Japanese defense minister, spoke about this in a comment to RBC-Ukraine during a visit to Kyiv.

“There are certain legal restrictions in Japan, as well as restrictions at the level of government policy. However, under the leadership of Prime Minister Takaichi, we intend to initiate intra-governmental discussions on next steps, using this visit as a catalyst,” Onodera noted.

This primarily concerns Japan’s rules on the export of defense equipment.

These are the so-called “Three Principles on the Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology.” In April 2026, they were significantly revised and relaxed, but the restrictions have not disappeared.

The rules still take a very cautious approach to the transfer of finished weapons to countries where war is ongoing.

The rule for such transfers is ‘in principle, not to allow,’ but there is an exception if there are special circumstances related to Japan’s security.

Japanese missiles for the Patriot system

Japan manufactures PAC-3 interceptor missiles for the Patriot air defense system under a U.S. license.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is the only qualified missile manufacturer of this type in Japan. The company is also one of the leading firms in the global supply chain for Patriot missile components.

As of today, Japan has 24 Patriot air defense batteries in service, comprising approximately 120 launchers. Six air defense groups provide protection for the country’s strategically important areas.

Japan remains the only manufacturer of gyroscopes for the guidance systems of Patriot PAC-2 anti-aircraft missiles.

Recently, the Japanese government ordered PAC-3 MSE missiles from Mitsubishi for $275 million.