To ensure domestic and international peace and security, amendments to Japan’s export controls were promulgated on 9 April 2025 in response to changes in the global security environment and based on the contents of the interim report issued on 24 April 2024.1 Most of the amendments will come into effect on 9 October 2025. The revisions to the catch-all regulation concerning conventional weapons are particularly significant. As amended, a Japanese exporter of commodity items not…
Effective 30 December 2024, regulations promulgated on 30 October 2024 will require intended technology transfers of the “Technologies Subject to Important Management” to be reported in advance to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The following technologies (i) that other countries are interested in acquiring and in which Japan has a competitive advantage and (ii) that carry risks of diversion to military use with the passage of time, have been designated as the Technologies…
The following goods/technologies were added to the Listed Controlled Items (“Controlled Items”) under the Export Control Order and the Foreign Exchange Order. The additions were promulgated on 8 July 2024 and went into effect on 9 September 2024. An export license is required to export any Controlled Item irrespective of its destination. The export controls related to specification thresholds of semiconductor manufacturing equipment were also updated to ensure a level playing field in light of…
On 10 July 2024, Osaka Prefectural Police arrested the representative director of a trading company on suspicion of violating the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law for illegally exporting without government approval export-controlled items that are subject to sanctions against Russia (“Case”). This is the first arrest in Japan involving unauthorized exports to Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. In this alert, we provide an overview of Japan’s sanctions against Russia, the Japanese government’s response…