Photo/Illutration Defense Minister Gen Nakatani delivers a speech aboard the British aircraft carrier Prince of Wales on Aug. 29. (Mizuki Sato)

Japan is considering an invitation from Latvia to join its “drone coalition” to help Ukraine fight back against Russia, according to Defense Minister Gen Nakatani.

Nakatani told a Sept. 26 news conference that the approach came through the Japan-Latvia foreign ministers’ meeting on Sept. 18, as well as other channels.

“Under our basic policy of providing as much support as possible to Ukraine, we will continue to study this,” he said.

Nakatani noted that even if Japan joins the coalition, it cannot provide weapons with lethal capability under the Constitution.

“I think it would be limited to areas such as monitoring and surveillance, and reconnaissance,” he said.

Latvia unveiled the drone coalition in February 2024. A total of 20 countries are participating, including nations in Europe as well as Australia and New Zealand.

With drone warfare taking center stage in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv has moved to strengthen its capabilities in both technology and operations.

Japan views the coalition as an opportunity to gain access to the coalition’s accumulated drone expertise.

In March 2022, shortly after Russia’s invasion, the Japanese government revised the operational guidelines of the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology to enable support for Ukraine.

Japan has since transferred used Self-Defense Forces equipment such as bulletproof vests, helmets and small drones.

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