Former Japan defence chief urges Taiwan to join Japan's approved arms-sale list
Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force chief Kiyofumi Iwata called for Taiwan to be added to Japan’s list of countries eligible for weapons exports.
Speaking at the Taiwan-Japan Future Technology Forum in Taipei, former chief of staff of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Kiyofumi Iwata urged that Taiwan be included in Japan’s approved arms-sale roster, describing the island as a keystone of the First Island Chain that blocks Chinese military growth. Iwata warned that President Xi Jinping’s “China dream” would be fulfilled if Beijing seized Taiwan, compelling Japan to overhaul its security strategy.
He highlighted Japan’s recent removal of limits on five weapons categories, ongoing contingency planning—including evacuation drills for up to 120,000 people from the Sakishima Islands to Kyushu and Yamaguchi Prefecture—and a push to build a domestic drone industry with Taiwan to reduce dependence on Chinese components. He cited remarks by the late Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie Abe linking Taiwan’s safety to Japan’s security, and called for deeper cooperation on dual-use technologies, especially drones where Chinese firms dominate the market.
Why it matters
Adding Taiwan to Japan's arms-sale list could reshape regional security and lessen Japan's reliance on Chinese defence technology.
How this story developed
- Sep 1 Germany pushes for deeper Japan partnership to cut chip reliance on China
- Sep 15 German firms have moved to partner with Japanese companies on chip components.
- Sep 21 EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič scheduled a visit to China to discuss the export curbing request.
- Sep 24 Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government has studied the possibility of a US-led military move against Canada, calling it an extreme tail risk, while noting frequent talks with President Donald Trump amid a worsening trade dispute.
- Sep 27 The United States imposed 50 % duties on $28 billion of Canadian imports.
- Sep 27 The Philippine Coast Guard sent a Cessna aircraft and the patrol ship BRP Teresa Magbanua to locate and challenge a China Coast Guard vessel operating inside the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.
- Oct 4 The Coast Guard’s response shifted from expelling the vessel to continuous monitoring.
- Oct 5 France and Germany have formally pushed for fast‑acting EU trade tools to counter market distortions.
- Oct 7 EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic is set to travel to Beijing for talks on trade frictions.
- Oct 8 A Chinese research ship was observed operating inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone off Batanes.
- Oct 9 President Lai Ching-te will use his National Day speech to stress economic expansion, new welfare measures and Taiwan’s geopolitical stance.
- Oct 10 The European Parliament held the vote on the China‑related resolution.
- Oct 11 Lai now vows to protect freedom and stresses parity in defence as part of his National Day address.
In this story
Related stories
39 in this thread