Japan agrees to cooperate with the US to support Ukraine with weapons

14 March, 2024 The Japanese crew of the FH70 gun. Photo: Japan Self-Defense Forces Japan has officially agreed to cooperate with the United States to support Ukraine with weapons and military equipment.

The publication Yomiuri reported on this. The official discussion of cooperation for "co-production" will be held at the US-Japan summit in Washington, DC, on 10 April 2024. First of all, as part of the discussions, the United States plans to agree on the purchase of Japanese weapons manufactured domestically under US license.

A member of the Japanese Self-Defence Forces next to a Patriot launcher and radar.

Photo credits: JASDF

Since the US arms stockpile has been significantly reduced due to active assistance to Ukraine, the government plans to buy weapons from Japan, while providing Ukraine with its own weapons. It should be noted that the country has already taken several steps to ease export restrictions, which will help Ukraine obtain more weapons. First of all, this regards changes in the so-called "three export principles," which Japan weakened in December 2023.

As part of these changes, the country has started work on two orders. The first order is for the supply of MIM-104 anti-aircraft missiles to the United States for Patriot air defense systems. Since the Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is the only foreign manufacturer of missiles for these systems with a high percentage of localization, exporting missiles to the US will increase the number of missiles that will be transferred to Ukraine.

Loading a 155mm L15A1 shell for firing from a Type 19 wheeled self-propelled gun.

Photo from the open sources

The second order covered the transfer to the United Kingdom of L15A1 155-mm projectiles, which are manufactured in Japan under license and are used by tracked Type 99 self-propelled howitzers, Type 19 wheeled self-propelled howitzers, and FH-70 towed howitzers.

Both countries are keen to help Ukraine with weapons and ammunition.

For this reason, Japan intends to transfer its artillery ammunition to the United Kingdom, while the UK, for its part, will transfer artillery ammunition from its own depots to Ukraine.