Japan and Finland sign defence equipment and technology transfer agreement in Tokyo

Tokyo and Helsinki now have a legal basis for cooperation on defence equipment. Japan and Finland signed the agreement on the transfer of defence equipment and technology on Monday, October 26, in Tokyo, with the signatures of Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Finnish Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen.

The agreement “will facilitate cooperation on defence equipment between the two countries,” Japan’s Foreign Ministry announced. The ceremony took place at the ministry, and in his meeting with Häkkänen, Motegi stressed that the security of the Euro-Atlantic region and of the Indo-Pacific is inseparable, Japan’s Jiji news agency reported. The text creates a legal basis for transfers of equipment and technology between the two countries, with controls on onward transfer to third countries and on use for purposes other than those intended. The two countries’ leaders had agreed in June 2025 to speed up the negotiations.

On the Finnish side, the agreement covers defence materiel, technology and research activity. “Japan is an important non-NATO partner for Finland,” Häkkänen wrote on X, adding that the agreement opens new forms of cooperation and supports exports by Finland’s defence industry to the Japanese market, where “good steps” have already been taken with completed sales. Finland’s Ministry of Defence said the text allows joint research, development and production programmes, to be coordinated by a joint committee, as Nordic Defence Sector recorded.

The Finnish minister was in Japan at the head of a delegation of Finnish companies. In his speech at the Finnish-Japanese defence seminar, he underlined the industrial and technological base of the two countries and noted that Finnish firms have internationally recognised expertise in, among other areas, mobility, communications, situational awareness, space technology, cybersecurity, weapon systems, ammunition and advanced technologies. He arrived in Tokyo from Australia, with which Finland signed on October 23 a joint statement on deeper defence cooperation.

Häkkänen meets Defence Minister Koizumi

The same day Häkkänen met Japan’s Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who received him with an honour guard at the ministry. Häkkänen laid flowers, in the rain, at the ministry’s memorial to members of the Self-Defense Forces who died in the line of duty. The two ministers agreed that the security of their two regions is indivisible and that they will work closely to deepen their defence relationship, Japan’s Ministry of Defense said. Koizumi wrote that the meeting was a chance to share a common assessment of the gravity of the situation, while Häkkänen noted that they discussed, among other things, the increasingly close cooperation between Russia, China and North Korea.

Before the meeting, Koizumi had pointed out that Finland revised its nuclear policy this year and amended its legislation to allow the “transfer of nuclear weapons” onto its territory, which had not been permitted until now. As Geopolitiki reported, Finland has also joined France’s European nuclear deterrence initiative. The Japanese minister wrote that in his meetings with counterparts from various countries he has been struck by the “strong sense of crisis” among European ministers, which strengthens and accelerates European security policy.