The Japanese government moved on Tuesday to allow the sale of more weapons abroad, in the latest shift away from pacifist policies imposed after World War II, as it grapples with rising security threats from China and a rapidly changing global order.

日本政府周二决定放宽对向海外出售更多武器的限制，这是二战后摆脱和平主义政策的最新一步。目前日本正面临来自中国的日益加剧的安全威胁以及快速变化的全球秩序。

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, at a cabinet meeting in Tokyo, reversed longstanding limits on the sale of Japan-made weapons overseas. The move comes days after Japan welcomed more than 30 NATO envoys for a visit meant to show stronger ties, and after Tokyo sealed a $6.5 billion deal to supply warships to Australia.

在东京的一次内阁会议上，日本首相高市早苗取消了对日本制造武器海外销售的长期限制。这一举措是在日本接待30多位北约特使访问以展示更紧密关系几天后做出的，此前东京还与澳大利亚签署了一项65亿美元的军舰供应协议。

Ms. Takaichi said in a post on X that the change was necessary in an “increasingly challenging security environment.”

高市早苗在X平台上发帖称，这一变化在“日益严峻的安全情势下”是必要的。

“No single country can now protect its own peace and security alone,” she said.

“如今，没有任何一个国家能够单独维护自身的和平与安全，”她说。

Ms. Takaichi, an outspoken critic of Beijing who rose to power last year, is seeking to shore up Japan’s defense industry and to build a more diverse network of allies, with increasing uncertainty over the reliability of its main partner, the United States. Japan hopes that easing the export rules can help strengthen deterrence in the region by showing China, North Korea and Russia that democratic countries around the Pacific are building a global arms supply chain.

对北京常有公开指责的高市早苗于去年上台执政。目前她正努力加强日本的国防工业，并建立一个更多元的盟友网络，因为日本对其主要伙伴美国的可靠性日益不确定。日本希望通过放宽出口管制向中国、朝鲜和俄罗斯表明，太平洋地区的民主国家正在构建全球武器供应链，以此增强在该地区的威慑力。

Japan, which adopted pacifism in the aftermath of World War II, has gradually eased limits on weapons exports over the past decade, allowing some exceptions, such as for rescue purposes, surveillance or under license agreements.The changes approved on Tuesday will unfetter defense contractors, allowing them to sell lethal weapons systems directly to 17 countries. That will permit Japanese companies to provide advanced frigates to the Philippines, for example, or submarines to Indonesia. But Japan will still prohibit the transfer of lethal weapons to countries in active combat, unless top officials determine that national security is at stake.

二战后奉行和平主义的日本过去十年已逐步放宽武器出口限制，允许一些例外情况，例如用于救援、监视或根据许可协议出口。周二批准的变化将解除对国防承包商的束缚，允许它们直接向17个国家出售致命武器系统。例如，这将使日本公司能够向菲律宾提供先进护卫舰，或向印度尼西亚提供潜艇。但日本仍将禁止向处于冲突中的国家转让致命武器，除非高级官员认定国家安全受到威胁。

Ms. Takaichi addressed concerns about Japan abandoning its postwar pacifism, writing that “there is absolutely no change in our commitment to upholding the path and fundamental principles we have followed as a peaceful nation for over 80 years since the war.”

对于外界担忧的日本将放弃战后和平主义，高市早苗写道：“我们作为和平国家在战后80多年所坚持的道路和基本原则绝对没有任何改变。”

2023年，日本护卫舰停泊在港口城市佐世保。

Japan is stepping up at a time when the United States is distracted by the war in Iran. The decision by the Trump administration to move some military assets out of Asia in recent weeks to support the war has fueled concerns about U.S. commitment to the region.

日本采取这一行动之际，美国正因伊朗战争而分心。特朗普政府最近几周决定将部分军事资产从亚洲调走以支持那场战争，令人愈发担忧美国对该地区的承诺。

“The idea that the U.S. would champion the global order has turned out to be sort of an illusion, and that’s a very inconvenient reality,” said Michito Tsuruoka, a professor at Keio University in Tokyo. “Now Japan is rushing to find viable alternatives for its own security and defense.”

“美国将捍卫全球秩序的想法已被证明是一种幻觉，是一个不得不面对的现实，”东京庆应义塾大学教授鹤冈路人说。“现在日本正急于为自身安全与防务寻找可行的替代方案。”

The shift in policy is aggravating tensions with China, which has accused Ms. Takaichi of reviving World War II-era militarism. China has unleashed a wave of economic reprisals against Japan over the past five months to punish Ms. Takaichi for saying Japan could intervene military if Beijing were to attack Taiwan.

这一政策转变加剧了与中国的紧张关系。中国指责高市早苗正在复活二战时期的军国主义。过去五个月里，中国对日本实施了一系列经济报复，以惩罚高市早苗的言论，她此前曾表示，若北京攻击台湾，日本可能进行军事干预。

Tensions have risen since last Friday, when Japan sent a warship through the Taiwan Strait. In response, China said on Sunday it was sending naval vessels through a waterway near southern Japan, near Kagoshima Prefecture.

自上周五以来，紧张局势进一步升级，当时日本派出一艘军舰穿越台湾海峡。作为回应，中国周日表示将派遣海军舰艇通过日本南部鹿儿岛县附近的一条水道。

Japan should “act prudently in military and security areas, and stop going further down the wrong path,” Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said when asked about possible changes to the export rules at a recent news conference.

中国外交部发言人毛宁在最近的一次新闻发布会上被问及出口规则可能的变化时表示，日本应该“在军事安全领域恪守承诺、慎重行事，不要在错误的道路上越走越远”。

Faced with the increasingly unpredictable foreign policy of President Trump, Japan has hedged its bets. Ms. Takaichi has welcomed a procession of European officials to Tokyo recently, including the leaders of Britain, France, Italy and Poland. In the coming weeks, she is expected to visit Vietnam and Australia.

面对特朗普总统日益难以预测的外交政策，日本选择了对冲策略。高市早苗最近在东京接待了多位欧洲官员，包括英国、法国、意大利和波兰的领导人。未来几周，她预计将访问越南和澳大利亚。

Last week, NATO sent its largest delegation to Japan since they established a partnership more than a decade ago.

上周，北约向日本派出了自双方建立伙伴关系十多年以来规模最大的代表团。

上周，日本外务大臣茂木敏充在东京接待了30多位北约使节，讨论合作事宜。

Anita Nergaard, the permanent representative to NATO for Norway, who helped lead the three-day visit, said Japan’s decision to export more weapons would be “really valuable to us, to Europe and the entire alliance.”

作为此次三天访问的主导者之一的挪威常驻北约代表安妮塔·内尔高表示，日本决定出口更多武器将“对我们、对欧洲以及整个联盟都非常有价值”。

“We are exactly at the point where need to turn those commitments and funding into concrete capabilities,” she said in an interview.

“我们正处于需要将那些承诺和资金转化为实际能力的关键时刻，”她在接受采访时说。

Japan and NATO both face the challenge of dealing with Mr. Trump, who has criticized Japan and NATO countries for a lack of support in the war in Iran.

日本和北约都面临如何与特朗普打交道的挑战。特朗普曾批评日本和北约国家在伊朗战争中支持不足。

Dan Neculaescu, Romania’s permanent representative to NATO, who also helped lead the delegation, said concerns about the role of the United States did not dominate the conversation in Tokyo.

同样帮助领导代表团的罗马尼亚常驻北约代表丹·内库拉埃斯库表示，对美国角色的担忧并未主导在东京的对话。

“We have had 70 years of the U.S. in NATO,” he said in an interview. “We can see the dynamics on the outside. But inside, the alliance is quite powerful.”

“我们在北约与美国共同度过了70年，”他在采访中说，“我们可以看到外部的动态。但在联盟内部，它仍然相当强大。”

He added that the spread of conflict around the world made it clear that “we have to work with Japan and they have to work with us.”

他补充说，世界各地冲突的蔓延清楚表明，“我们必须与日本合作，他们也必须与我们合作。”

Japan has gradually shifted its approach to weapons as it has sought a larger global security role. In 2014, Shinzo Abe, then Japan’s prime minister and Ms. Takaichi’s mentor, revised regulations to allow weapons to be exported for international security efforts, such as peacekeeping missions by the United Nations. That ended a strict ban that had been in place for nearly 50 years.

 随着日本寻求在全球安全领域扮演更重要的角色，其武器政策也逐渐转变。2014年，时任日本首相、高市早苗的导师安倍晋三修改了规定，允许武器出口用于国际安全努力，例如联合国维和任务。这结束了实施近50年的严格禁令。

The rules changed again in 2023, when Japan allowed the sale of advanced air defense systems to the United States under a license agreement. The move helped bolster American military stockpiles at a time when Washington was helping Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

2023年规则再次发生变化，日本允许根据许可协议向美国出售先进防空系统。这一举措帮助美国在援助乌克兰对抗俄罗斯期间补充了军事库存。