By Hironari Akiyama / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent
BRUSSELS -- Japan's public and private sectors are launching a sales push in the Northern European market for military-civilian dual-use products that make use of advanced civilian technologies, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Japanese government will soon issue two joint statements, one each with Finland and Sweden, on the promotion of technological cooperation. Japan aims to use Northern Europe as a foothold for plans to expand exports across Europe as a whole, where awareness of the need for defense has heightened following Russia's aggression against Ukraine.
A delegation including representatives from the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the defense industry was to visit the region starting Monday. Executives and others from about 25 companies and organizations, including Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., IHI Corp. and Toshiba Corp., are participating. They plan to hold talks with defense ministers and other relevant cabinet members and visit companies, such as major telecom equipment firms Nokia and Ericsson, to explore potential avenues for collaboration. The delegation is expected to visit Germany as well. This marks Japan's first joint public-private sector inspection mission formed to promote dual-use products and technologies overseas. Another notable point about the delegation is that it includes representatives from startups.
Technologies under consideration for potential dual-use functionality include: satellite technology capable of observing the Earth's surface from space regardless of conditions like nighttime or cloudy skies; wearable work-assistance robots (assist suits); and low-cost, high-performance drones made of cardboard.
The planned joint statements will stipulate that the participants confirm their commitment to "further advancing cooperation (and) fostering innovation" in the dual-use field. It is also set to include a stipulation that joint development and other collaborations will be explored including through support from Japanese government-affiliated financial organizations such as JBIC, as well as the European Defense Fund.
Finland and Sweden joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization $(NATO)$ following Russia's aggression against Ukraine. In June 2025, the NATO member nations agreed that they would all work to increase their defense spending from 2% of their respective gross domestic products to 5%. They are now rushing to raise their budgets in this area.
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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.
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February 02, 2026 07:11 ET (12:11 GMT)
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