Japan accelerates dual-use technology cooperation and development: Opportunities for allied nation industrial cooperation

Takaichi’s ruling LDP secured a two-thirds supermajority in the House of Representatives, strengthening her mandate to pursue reforms across economic, security and defence policy.

The election result cements Takaichi’s position as one of Japan’s strongest postwar leaders, providing parliamentary leverage to advance her agenda with limited obstruction.

While her campaign included economic measures such as suspending the 8 per cent consumption tax on food and stimulus initiatives, the broader significance lies in her commitment to recalibrating Japan’s security doctrine.

Takaichi has articulated plans to increase defence spending towards 2 per cent of gross domestic product by 2027, pursue counterstrike capabilities, expand defence exports, and clarify the legal status of the Self-Defense Forces.

Central to this transformation is accelerated adoption of dual-use technologies – commercial innovations with both civilian and military applications – particularly cyber security across defence, critical infrastructure and manufacturing, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, space capabilities, semiconductors and advanced sensing and communications.

By integrating these technologies into defence planning, the government aims to build a more agile and resilient security-industrial base. Likely measures include stronger and enforced cyber security requirements, public–private partnerships, increased research and development incentives, streamlined acquisition pathways, and enhanced export controls to protect sensitive technologies.

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For the United States, Japan’s strengthened defence posture aligns closely with Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy, particularly in distributed and digital manufacturing.

Enhanced dual-use collaboration will expand joint capability development in missile defence, undersea systems, space domain awareness and AI-enabled intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. However, this deeper integration requires harmonised requirements, export controls, technology protection regimes and trusted supply chain frameworks.

For Australia, the election outcome reinforces opportunities for trilateral cooperation with Japan and the United States. Areas such as autonomous maritime systems, resilient communications, cyber defence, and critical minerals processing present clear crossover opportunities. Alignment of export control and industrial security standards will be crucial to facilitate seamless collaboration.

There will also be natural areas of crossover with AUKUS Pillar 2 demand signals to help introduce Japan into these shared supply chains of interest.

Regionally, Japan’s shift may recalibrate strategic balances in east Asia, strengthening deterrence while potentially increasing tensions with China. Economically, integrating dual-use innovation into national defence priorities underscores the convergence of industrial policy and security strategy.

Operationalising policies for industry contracts and teaming

One of the fundamental challenges to help allied nation companies, particularly small-to-medium (SME) companies that are not linked to a defence prime or state-owned-enterprise, is how to connect into the relevant government contracts.

The Pacific International Center for High Technology Research (PICHTR) has been quietly connecting Japan and the US in the technology sector since 1986.

For the last three years, PICHTR has developed a dual-use technology program funded by the Japanese government that has demonstrated exactly how to achieve this – connecting dual-use start-up companies with US government defence and national security contracting opportunities and teaming solutions.

This has been done under a trademarked program with Kissinger Advisors who specialise in US and Japan government contracting.

Connecting the dots

The PICHTR-led PACT conference convenes INDOPACOM and Japan defence officials, contract requirements writers, contracting officers, industry, investors, and allied government, innovators, and military liaison officers to INDOPACOM to collectively address a commander’s intent in a tabletop exercise and for US-allied industry teams formed at the event to respond to a formal US Marine Corps (USMC) Project Dynamis Request for Information (RFI).

The tabletop exercise forced agile teaming to respond to immediate near-conflict needs, followed by a detailed tutorial on how to best respond to the RFI, while PACT broadened the conversation to other services’ acquisition opportunities and operational problem sets.

This model demonstrates how government projects (in this case Project Dynamis) can be meshed with allied nation dual-use technology solutions for coalition integration in the Indo-Pacific.

Several unique elements stand out.

First, the PACT agenda mirrored Dynamis’ priorities. Sessions emphasised data federation, allied interoperability and the coordination of disparate data sources for MDA, precisely the pain points that Dynamis seeks to address. In this sense, PACT served as a venue where allied stakeholders validated the operational problems that Dynamis has been designed to solve.

Second, PACT’s focus on challenge-based acquisition and upcoming contracts intersected with Dynamis’ rapid modernisation ethos. The same week as the PACT conference, the USMC released an RFI tied directly to Project Dynamis, subsequently updated on 14 March.

Third, coalition interoperability was a central theme across both the workshop and PACT. Project Dynamis has already demonstrated the ability to integrate coalition data links through commercial solutions such as Ultra Intelligence & Communications’ ADSI system.

Opportunities for Australia and other allied nations

Given the success of PICHTR and Kissinger Advisors’ PACT series to help connect and integrate Japanese and US dual-use technology solutions into US government contracting opportunities, time is right to explore how this can be applied more broadly for other allies and partners.

Obviously, this includes Australia as a trusted partner with Japan, a shared alliance with the US and rapidly deepening level of practical cooperation between Australia and Japan in the defence and national security sectors, including industry collaboration.

Bernice Kissinger is a managing director for Honolulu and Tokyo at Ballard Partners and an expert in dual-use technology integration and government contracting.

Stephen Kuper

Steve has an extensive career across government, defence industry and advocacy, having previously worked for cabinet ministers at both Federal and State levels.