Japan Backs Drone Industry for Civilian and Military Use

Japan’s Cabinet has set a target of securing annual supplies of 80,000 drones and key components for civilian use by 2030, while building an industrial base that can also serve the Defense Ministry. The state is steering production toward both civilian markets and military requirements, with domestic companies positioned to supply the apparatus.

A supply chain with two customers

The National Growth Strategy, approved by the Cabinet in July, calls for Japan to reduce reliance on overseas components and China’s dominant drone maker, DJI. The strategy says many critical components still depend on overseas suppliers and describes greater autonomy as an urgent priority. Even drones assembled in Japan often use Chinese-made batteries and other key parts.

The government designated drones a Specified Critical Material in December 2025, alongside semiconductors and batteries. It plans subsidies and research-and-development support to expand domestic production. The production target is civilian; the industrial base is also expected to meet defense needs.

Japan’s revised three national security documents are expected later in 2026 to address a “new way of warfare.” The development and production of capabilities for the Defense Ministry and the Self-Defense Forces are expected to rely heavily on private companies with advanced technologies, including drones and artificial intelligence. Public policy sets the direction, while private firms are expected to build the hardware.

Private firms, military demand

More than 50 people, including representatives of drone-manufacturing startups, attended a late-July gathering of the SAMURAI Defense Council in Nagoya. They heard a presentation from Hideki Tsuchimoto, former commissioner of Japan’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency. Shunsuke Toya, president of Nagoya-based Prodrone Co., is one of the council’s driving forces.

Prodrone began with expertise in radio-controlled helicopters and grew into a maker of industrial civilian drones. In 2026, it declared itself a dual-use technology company and entered the defense sector. Its manufacturing expertise developed in Aichi Prefecture, and its record in unmanned helicopters has drawn strong interest from Japan’s defense establishment.

Toya says the company’s approach differs from that of major defense contractors. “Our hallmark is that we use not cutting-edge technology but mature technology,” he said. “Older technologies are inexpensive, durable and easy to repair. That approach has enabled dramatic cost reductions while producing reliable, long-range drones that are fuel-efficient and easy to maintain.”

Prodrone’s GT-M unmanned helicopter uses a 32cc engine comparable in size to a lawn mower’s. It can remain airborne for about three hours, reach speeds of up to 135 kph and maintain stable flight in winds of up to 72 kph. Toya said each costs roughly 2 million yen ($12,700), between one-tenth and one-twentieth the cost of comparable unmanned helicopters made overseas.

The costs of entering defense

Prodrone has built a prototype drone made entirely in Japan, including all major components. Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi visited its Nagoya headquarters in May and called it “an excellent opportunity to deepen discussions about the future of Japan’s domestic production and technology base.” He said maintaining unmanned-aircraft production capabilities in Japan was indispensable.

The move into defense carries risks for startups. Some fear that defense work could reinforce perceptions of contractors as “merchants of death” profiting from war and national crises. Others worry that defense-related work could prompt economic pressure from China and harm their wider business. Toya said Prodrone received varied reactions after announcing its defense plans, and some potential investors withdrew from planned investments.

Toya argued that companies should explain why they work in defense. He said Japan has long tended to avoid discussing defense matters, partly because of reflections on the prewar period, but added that drones can enable highly destructive attacks and that dual-use technologies can contribute to national defense and help protect people’s lives. The article records government targets, planned subsidies, defense demand and company-level risks; it reports no grassroots or community-led response to the policy.