The United States is attempting to procure TNT in Japan for 155mm artillery projectiles as it hurries weapons and ammunition to Ukraine in preparation for a planned counteroffensive against Russian forces.
The export regulations of a pacifist Japan prohibit Japanese companies from selling lethal items abroad, such as the howitzer projectiles that Ukraine fires daily at Russian forces occupying its southeastern regions.
US Seeks Artillery Shells in Japan
Despite this, the allies appear to have found a way to allow the TNT sale despite global shortages of munitions, according to two sources who spoke with Reuters. Per Aljazeera, the export restrictions for commercially sold dual-use products and equipment are less stringent than those for exclusively military items.
According to a second source, Tokyo has informed the United States government that it will permit the sale of industrial TNT because the explosive is not restricted to military use only. The US wishes to add a Japanese company to its TNT supply chain in order to deliver explosives to US army-owned munitions factories, which would then pack them into 155mm shell cases, according to the source.
Japan is among the scores of friends and allies that the United States has asked for assistance in arming Ukraine in light of its strained military supply chains. Among those contacted by the United States is South Korea, which also employs 155mm projectiles. A South Korean defense official told Reuters that Seoul's opposition to providing lethal assistance to Kyiv has not changed.
When asked this week in Tokyo about the possibility of a change in Japanese policy on lethal aid, Austin stated at a press briefing that any change would be a matter for Japan, but that "any support" for Ukraine is "always appreciated."
The sources who spoke with Reuters declined to identify the Japanese company that would supply explosives to the US government, nor did they disclose the quantity of TNT that Washington wished to purchase.
When asked if it was discussing any TNT sales through an intermediary, the company, whose website features an industrial TNT product, stated that it does not disclose the identity of customers or potential purchasers. Many legislators of Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) want to ease or eliminate export restrictions, so supplying commercial TNT to the United States may only be a stopgap measure.
Japan Donated Military Vehicles to Ukraine
Japan previously held a ceremony to commemorate its intended donation of approximately 100 military vehicles to Ukraine, as Tokyo aims to provide military equipment with a wider range of applications than its previous shipments of helmets and hazmat suits.
During a ceremony at the Defense Ministry that featured the display of two half-ton pickups, Japanese Vice Defense Minister Toshiro Ino presented Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Korsunsky with a document listing the three categories of vehicles included in the donation.
The donation, which also consists of 30,000 food rations, comes as Japan's government seeks to ease its military equipment transfer policy under a new national security policy that grants its military a greater offensive role, marking a significant departure from its post-World War II self-defense-only principle.
While other nations have provided Ukraine with tanks, missiles, and fighter aircraft, Japan has restricted its donations to non-lethal equipment due to a transfer policy that prohibits the provision of lethal weaponry to countries currently engaged in armed conflict.
Since Russia's invasion began a year ago, Japan has provided Ukraine with ballistic vests, headgear, gas masks, hazmat suits, small drones, and food rations, according to AP News.
When they met on the margins of the Group of Seven summits in Hiroshima, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged the vehicles to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Japan has also promised to treat wounded Ukrainian soldiers at a military facility in Japan.
The government stated that the vehicles consist of half-ton tractors, high-mobility vehicles, and material-handling vehicles. The Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Agency stated that the shipment details, including the precise quantity of vehicles and timetable, are being finalized.
The Japanese government has joined the United States and European nations in sanctioning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and providing humanitarian and economic assistance to Ukraine. Fears of a potential impact on East Asia, where China's military has grown increasingly assertive and escalated tensions around Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory, prompted Japan's swift response.
Japan has contributed $7 billion or more to Ukraine. It has also assisted more than 2,000 displaced Ukrainians with housing, employment, and education, an unusual step in a country with a stringent immigration policy.
