Japan’s protection minister Gen Nakatani visited Turkey to reinforce protection ties and, whereas there, additionally visited the services of Turkish Aerospace Industries, Istanbul Naval Shipyard and Baykar.
Japan and Turkey have set the stage for future protection business ties as Japanese Protection Minister Gen Nakatani met his Turkish counterpart and toured Turkish navy industrial services on Aug. 19, 2025. Whereas neither the Japanese MoD nor Turkey’s MND (Ministry of Nationwide Protection) recognized the form of programs Tokyo goals to purchase from Ankara, experiences from each nations and Reuters famous drones are among the many programs being thought-about.
Nakatani’s go to to the services of TAI (Turkish Aerospace Industries), Istanbul Naval Shipyard and the main UAV and aerospace main Baykar, supported by quotes in deep background by diplomatic officers on either side, moreover recommend issues are transferring in that path. The experiences nevertheless clarified that Japan remains to be distant from instantly starting buying Turkish navy {hardware}.
Curiously, the experiences come on the identical day because the Japan Coast Guard deployed considered one of its three GA-ASI MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones to watch the Senkaku Islands “amid repeated incursions into close by waters by Chinese language vessels,” based on sources quoted by Japan At this time.
Millî Savunma Bakanı Yaşar Güler, Japonya Savunma Bakanı Gen Nakatani ile Millî Savunma Bakanlığında bir araya geldi.
Bakan Yaşar Güler, askerî törenle karşıladığı konuk mevkidaşı ile baş başa görüşme gerçekleştirdi.
Her iki Bakan daha sonra heyetler arası toplantıya başkanlık… pic.twitter.com/jv4ivzTWBc
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) August 19, 2025
Nakatani is visiting the area as half of a bigger tour from Aug. 17 to 22, together with Djibouti and Jordan, and his assembly together with his Turkish counterpart Yaşar Güler was the spotlight of the go to. This is also the primary go to by a Japanese protection minister to Turkey, which included an inter-delegation assembly of protection, consular and diplomatic officers. A working-group degree committee between Japan’s ATLA (Acquisition, Expertise and Logistics Company) and Turkey’s SSB (Presidency of Protection Industries) will now take issues ahead.
DM Nakatani visited #Türkiye from Aug 19 to twenty and held a Protection Ministerial Assembly with Minister Güler. 🇯🇵 has loved a longstanding amicable relationship with🇹🇷, and can additional strengthen protection cooperation and exchanges.Outcome Abstract: pic.twitter.com/s42ThIIL3J
— Japan Ministry of Protection/Self-Protection Forces (@ModJapan_en) August 21, 2025
Go to and statements
The Japanese readout stated the Japan-Turkey Protection Ministerial Assembly on Aug. 19 lasted almost 100 minutes, the place the 2 ministers “welcomed the developments of cooperation between the protection authorities, similar to high-level exchanges, unit-level exchanges and exchanges within the schooling subject.” Moreover, the assertion says the 2 Ministers affirmed the desire to additional broaden protection cooperation and talk about concrete cooperative fields within the protection sector.
The 2 ministers “exchanged views on potential protection tools and expertise cooperation […] and […] concurred to start out a dialogue between the tools authorities towards realizing exchanges between the protection industries,” additional added the MoD. The press launch then talked about Nakatani’s go to to protection associated services and firms, together with Turkish Aerospace Industries, Istanbul Naval Shipyard, and Baykar.
Japan’s Def. Min. Nakatani wrapped up 2 day Turkey go to with a press convention confirming curiosity for Turkish drones whereas revealing Turkey is eager about Japan’s naval minesweeping capabilities. @Selcuk @halukJapanese MOD Presser Transcript Hyperlink : pic.twitter.com/lXccUT4kGI
— Sinan Tavsan (@SinanTavsan) August 21, 2025
Based on Each day Sabah, Nakatani advised journalists in Istanbul that they “agreed to start discussions on the working group-level between our respective tools authorities, with a view to facilitating exchanges between our protection industries.”
The broader strategic objective within the Japan MoD press launch alluded to “tackling varied challenges within the worldwide group” and “collaborate collectively for the peace and stability of the area.” The Turkish MND quoted Güler: “We’re able to make each effort to realize additional improvement, significantly within the protection business and navy relations, with our Japanese buddies.”
Drones
The reference to drones appeared in each Turkish and Japanese media experiences. Based on The Mainichi, the talks got here as Japan has been “contemplating shopping for drones made in Turkey as a part of its efforts to strengthen its surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.”
All of the experiences additional referenced Turkey’s provide of Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs to Ukraine that had been extensively used and recorded successes within the first few months of 2022. An unidentified official advised Reuters forward of the assembly that the 2 sides “will maintain inspections concerning drones, however an settlement is just not anticipated” as it’s “too early.”
“Turkey-backed corporations have equipped drones to a number of nations, together with Ukraine, whereas Japan is getting ready to broaden using unmanned aerial automobiles throughout its floor, air and naval forces,” Reuters added. Each day Sabah additional stated that, whereas Japan is eager about Turkey’s drone business and Turkey is eager about Japan’s command and management capabilities, and there are needs to evaluation any export management frameworks, the talks “didn’t imply Japan would purchase Turkish-made protection merchandise.”
Drones for Japan
Based on The Japan Instances, the MoD is pushing for a whopping $1.4 billion allocation for the FY2026 price range “in the direction of the mass deployment of defensive air, sea and underwater drones,” amid China’s “more and more assertive strikes” round Japan’s air and maritime area. Japan’s 2022 Protection Buildup Program requires the SDFs (Self-Protection Forces) to “expeditiously procure varied sorts of unmanned belongings” by 2027.
1/3 A 🇯🇵 Def. Min. visiting 🇹🇷 for the primary time, touring drone giants @BaykarTech & @TUSAS_TR. JP has US’s MQ-9B with a price ticket $80 million +, whereas a TB2 estimated round $5 million. through @NikkeiAsia
— Sinan Tavsan (@SinanTavsan) August 20, 2025
These embrace long-endurance unmanned aerial automobiles and shipborne unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance belongings, in addition to unmanned aerial automobiles for “the speedy transport of provides to extensively dispersed deployed models, distant bases and naval vessels.”
TJT nevertheless added that, whereas the MoD is contemplating “comparatively cheap overseas” programs for fast acquisition and induction, its “longer-term plans are to assist increase home manufacturing” for “reinforcing provide chains of needed components.”
This additionally explains the unofficial quotes within the experiences that stated Tokyo is not going to start buying Ankara’s UAVs immediately, and may doubtless search for larger native manufacturing. Japan had additionally pushed for its personal domestically-developed airborne EW (Digital Warfare) plane based mostly on the Kawasaki P-1 MPA.
Japan’s MQ-9B SeaGuardian
Relating to the SeaGuardian’s monitoring of Chinese language Coast Guard vessels close to the Senkaku Islands on Aug. 19, Japan At this time stated that it was one amongst many routine deployments utilizing the drone by the service within the East China Sea, western Pacific and the Sea of Japan. The report added that the JCG will add two extra SeaGuardians by March 2026.
#Japan acquires two extra MQ-9B #SeaGuardian drones to reinforce maritime surveillance pic.twitter.com/zoEx2Tk1Ng
— MIRAGEC14 (@JMESPARCIA) August 21, 2024
GA-ASI additionally introduced on Dec. 3, 2024, that the JMSDF (Japan Maritime Self-Protection Drive) chosen the SeaGuardian for its Lengthy Endurance UAV program, following its use of SeaGuardian since Could 2023 as a part of its Medium-Altitude, Lengthy Endurance (MALE) RPA System Trial Operations Challenge.
Different Turkish posts stated that the go to might open doorways for Japan contemplating TAI’s Hürjet to exchange its older Kawasaki T-4s. Whereas Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Could unveiled its T-X coach idea, the Mainichi Shimbun reported in March 2024 that the nation could have recognized the Boeing-Saab T-7A Pink Hawk because the potential candidate.
