Ukraine’s Patriot missile request tests Japan’s pacifist limits

Japan’s firm support for Ukraine in its war against Russia is expected to be tested after Kyiv expressed interest in working with Tokyo to produce Patriot interceptor missiles.

Such a move is unlikely because it would require Japan to cross a sensitive line on exports of lethal weapons and complicate its regional relations, according to analysts.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week that Kyiv was keen to work with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to manufacture Patriot missiles, after US President Donald Trump said Washington would license Ukraine to produce the weapons.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is one of the companies approved by the US to manufacture Patriot missiles.

Praising the company’s capabilities, Zelensky said: “It has demonstrated a very high standard in producing missiles for the Patriot system. It is probably the strongest example today of how, after obtaining a US licence, a company can establish its own anti-missile ballistic production.”

The Patriot missiles have helped Ukraine intercept Russia’s ballistic and hypersonic missiles during their ongoing war, which started in February 2022. Kyiv currently faces a severe shortage of such missiles to counter Moscow’s attacks.