TOKYO: Protesters gathered in Tokyo on Friday to rally against Japan’s decision to ease decades-old arms export curbs, which critics argue erodes the country’s post-war pacifist tradition.

The new rules permitting the sale of lethal weapons overseas signal a major shift, as Japan ramps up its defence ambitions and seeks to enter the global arms market in part to boost economic growth.

The move, announced this week by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, has been met with some criticism and unease am­­ong the Japanese public.

Holding placards that read “Stop exporting lethal weapons” and “No war”, dozens of protesters assembled on Friday in front of a busy train station in the capital’s Shinjuku area.

“The government must not decide on its own,” they chanted.

Tokyo resident Ryozo Sawada said he felt “an unbearable sense of humiliation” about the policy shift.

“Ever since I was a child, the one thing about Japan I could truly be proud of was that we renounced war,” the 74-year-old said.

“The fact that they actually decided to export weapons is incredibly frightening,” said Masako, a 29-year-old Tokyo resident who only gave her first name.

“I’m angry that, even though Japan has been a peaceful nation for the past 80 years, a small group of people did something that outright denies that,” she said.

When announcing the change, Takaichi stressed that Japan’s “core principles” and “history” as a pacifist nation remain unchanged.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2026