Japan calls on India to fast-track internal process on UNICORN naval radar agreement

TOKYO

Japan on Tuesday (September 29, 2026) called on India to fast-track internal official processing of the agreement on the UNICORN (Unified Complex Radio Antenna) naval radar system that the two sides signed during Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s July India visit.

In an exclusive chat with The Hindu on Tuesday (September 29, 2026), a senior official of the Ministry of Defence of Japan said the next naval exercise of Quad member-states will be held near the Sea of Japan before the year-end. The official further said Japan will soon overhaul major policy documents related to defence, national security and military supply plans, in view of the ongoing conflicts in West Asia and Ukraine.

The senior official called for closer military collaboration between India and Japan, and highlighted the concept of Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) that found prominent mention during Ms. Takaichi’s India visit in July.

Referring to the UNICORN project, the official said, “We have a basic agreement on the transfer of the technology and now we are waiting for the internal processing of the agreement within the Indian establishment and hope they will fast forward the internal process.” The official noted that bilateral India-Japan naval exercise ‘Veer Guardian 2026’ ended last week and said the Quad Navy exercise – Malabar – will be held before the end of this year.

Counter moves

The senior Defence Ministry official highlighted the “changing security environment” in the region and said Japan will work rapidly to ensure “uninterrupted” capability for counter measures against drones and other unmanned platforms.

“Apart from drones, Artificial Intelligence is also being deployed in combats in West Asia and Ukraine and that is accelerating decision-making in military. Countering drones is becoming costly because military hardware will get depleted in a week if we start countering drones with expensive missiles,” said the official, presenting the evolving challenges before Japan’s Self Defence Forces (SDF). He pointed out that Japan formulated three policy documents on national security, national defence and military supplies (national defence build-up) in 2022. These documents were to be revised in 2027 but they are now being revised “ahead of time” because of the challenges that are emanating from the active battlefields of West Asia and Ukraine.

A policy document published in August titled ‘Evaluation of Japan’s Current National Defence Strategy and Defence Buildup Programme (Challenges and Future Direction)’ further mentioned that Tokyo considers it “necessary to field large numbers of diverse unmanned assets, integrate them with conventional platforms, and operate them flexibly in accordance with mission requirements and battlefield conditions”.

Note of concern

The Defence Ministry official pointed at activities involving China, Russia, and North Korea that appear “concerning” to Japan and said “Japan is monitoring military activities” by these three countries. “China’s non-transparent and rapidly increasing military expenditure and its activities in areas around Japan as well as China-Russia joint bomber flights in areas near Japan are concerning for Tokyo,” said the official who chose not to describe these activities as a “threat”.

The official pointed out that North Korea is helping Russia in its campaign in Ukraine and in return Pyongyang is “receiving technology from Russia.” He, however, said that despite the new and emerging challenges on the security front, “Japan will not strike anyone first”. “We will maintain minimum defence capability necessary for self-defence that will be exercised when Japan is under attack and there is no change in that stance,” said the government official. “Japan will not assert its military power but will make proactive contribution to peace and stability in the region.” 

Earlier this month, the Chinese Foreign Ministry had referred to Japan’s wartime history of aggression against China and other regions and pointed out Tokyo’s plans to revise its pacifist constitution. China said Japan’s “moves constitute a blatant challenge to the postwar international order, and a major factor threatening peace and stability in the region”.

The senior Japanese official, however, reiterated Japan’s concern about the July 6 test-firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) by China in the South China Sea. “China’s military activities lack transparency and are very rapid and encompass wide areas,” the official said.

“Going forward, the MoD of Japan will continue to work with our allies and like-minded countries in answering such actions in the South China Sea,” the official added.

(The correspondent is visiting Japan as a guest of the Foreign Press Center Japan (FPCN), a leading Japanese foreign policy think tank, to participate in the ‘2026 International Journalists’ Conference’ to be held on October 1, 2026 in Tokyo.)