MoD, Sumitomo, NAS! Don’t buy genocide drones from Israel!
署名活動の主旨
This petition demands that the Ministry of Defense (MoD), Sumisho Aero-System Corporation (Sumitomo Corporation’s subsidiary), and Nippon Aircraft Supply not purchase attack drones from Israel.
Israeli military drones are touted as “field-tested”: they are a product of the apartheid system, which makes Palestine a “human laboratory” of arms engineering and improvement.
Israel has massacred more than 70,000 Palestinians since October 7th, 2023, alone, and has violated ceasefire agreements, propelling the ethnic cleansing and extermination of the Palestinian people.
Buying lethal weapons from Israel will send a message to the international community that the Japanese state approves of this genocide, which is unacceptable.
We demand that the Ministry of Defense and the Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency:
- Announce in advance the exclusion of Israeli-made weapons during the process of tender for “Small Attack Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) Type II & III”; or at least not purchase them.
We demand that Sumisho Aero-System Corporation and Nippon Aircraft Supply:
- Announce that they will not be the import agents for the Israeli arms company during the process of tender for “Small Attack Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) Type II & III”; or at least not participate in the tender.
Let us once again raise our voice to halt the purchase of Israeli drones by the MoD and import agent companies!
<The Background of this Petition>
On February 17, 2026, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), a state-owned defense contractor that had been considered a leading contender during the demonstration testing phase, did not participate in Japan's Ministry of Defense’s open competitive tender for Type I small attack UAVs (drones), thus no Israeli drones were selected.
It was in February 2024 that negotiations between the Ministry of Defense and civic groups revealed that 5 out of 7 (later 5 out of 9) of the attack drones selected for the Ministry’s demonstration tests—which were conducted with the intention of procurement—were Israeli-made.
Procuring weapons from Israel that commits an ongoing genocide violates international law and would make Japan complicit in war crimes; in this regard, the MoD and import agent companies bear significant responsibilities. Notably, IAI and its import agent, Kaigai Corporation—which had been extremely eager toward this drone deployment initiative, having submitted a tender of merely 1 yen (around 63 cents) in the open competitive tender for the demonstration tests—were among the companies under consideration for acquisition for FY 2026 year.
While the specific reasons why Kaigai Corporation and IAI did not even participate in the tender remain unclear, there is little doubt that the persistent protests carried out by citizens during this period had an impact.
However, both the MoD and other import agents have not given up on the idea of importing Israeli-made attack drones.
<Details of the Israeli UAVs and its agent companies selected for the demonstration test prior to the procurement of "Small Attack UAV Type II & III" in FY 2026 (*1)>
Type II: HERO-120 (Uvision)
Import agent: Sumisho Aero-System Corporation (Sumitomo Corporation’s subsidiary)
Type III: SkyStriker (Elbit Systems)
Import Agent: Nippon Aircraft Supply (NAS)
Demonstration testing was conducted with the intention of procurement. These products likely enter this tender as candidate models.
Surely, the government and the MoD took notice of the previous “don’t buy genocide drones!” protests organized by citizens.
The 14 March 2026 Kyodo News report quoted a government official that “although unmanned drones produced by Israel, known for its high technology, are among the options” from which to procure attack drones, “the widespread criticism of Israel’s attack on the Gaza Strip in Palestine” makes it difficult to win public support (*2)
In fact, initially during the demonstration test phase, half of the candidate models for the Type II small attack drone were Israeli-made, and for the Type III, all candidates were Israeli-made; however, the MoD has continued to add non-Israeli candidates since then.
As of June 2026, the share of Israeli-made models among the Type II candidates has dropped to 1 out of 5, and for Type III, to 1 out of 3 (*3).
Even after October 7, 2023, when the genocide intensified, the Ministry of Defense has purchased more than 24.3 billion yen worth of Israeli-made non-lethal weapons (*4).
The International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion issued in July 2024 clearly states that Israel’s occupation is illegal, and that all states have an obligation not to recognize the occupation as lawful or provide any support that would perpetuate the condition created by the occupation. However, by spending enormous sums to purchase Israeli-made non-lethal weapons, the MoD has been supporting Israel’s military and economy.
On top of that, the acquisition of attack drones, the lethal weapons that are currently being used to genocide Palestinians, crosses a line in complicity with genocide and is absolutely unacceptable!
Given that the government, the MoD, and the import agent companies have lost even the most basic sense of morality, public protest is our last line of defense. Let’s use our voices to once again stop the Ministry of Defense and import agent companies from purchasing Israeli drones—an unforgivable act of complicity in genocide!
*1: IAI’s Heron MK, for which Kawasaki Heavy Industries serves as the import agent, was selected at the demonstration tests of a multi-purpose attack drone, but the acquisition costs have not been included in the government’s budget for this fiscal year. Let’s keep a close eye on future developments and prevent its import.
*2:【独自】ウクライナ製無人機の導入検討 攻撃型、ロシアとの実戦経験重視（Kyodo News）https://news.jp/i/1405521417984967672?c=39550187727945729
*3: As of June 2026, the candidate models for the Small Attack UAV Types II and III (aircraft that underwent demonstration testing by the Ministry of Defense), their countries, manufacturers, and import agent companies (in brackets) are as follows.
Small Attack UAV Type II
- Drone81, Australia, DefendTex (Marubeni Aerospace)
- Hero120, Israel, Uvision (Sumisho Aero-System Corporation)
- 無人航空機 (BLK1), Japan, Fuji Imvac (Daikin Industries)
- Warmate 3, Poland, WB Electronics (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries)
- HX-2 Karma, Germany, HELSING (Rakuten Group)
Small Attack UAV Type III
- SkyStriker Type III, Israel, Elbit Systems (Nippon Aircraft Supply)
- ALTIUS-600M, United States, Anduril Industries (Sumisho Aero-System Corporation)
- Warmate 5, Poland, WB Electronics (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries)
*4: 徹底解明 軍事費 イスラエル製武器購入 裏に周到な政界工作 超党派訪問団はイスラエル政府丸抱え ガザ虐殺開始後も止まらず（Shimbun Akahata）https://jqak8jnh-7nzd.jcp.or.jp/akahata/aik25/2026-02-15/2026021501_01_0.php
Recipients of the Petition
- Koizumi Shinjiro, the Minister of Defense
- Aoyagi Hajime, the Commissioner of the Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency
- Ueno Shingo, President of Sumitomo Corporation
- Ueno Tomonori, President of Sumisho Aero-System Corporation
- Matsushita Osamu, President of Nippon Aircraft Supply
5,233
署名活動の主旨
This petition demands that the Ministry of Defense (MoD), Sumisho Aero-System Corporation (Sumitomo Corporation’s subsidiary), and Nippon Aircraft Supply not purchase attack drones from Israel.
Israeli military drones are touted as “field-tested”: they are a product of the apartheid system, which makes Palestine a “human laboratory” of arms engineering and improvement.
Israel has massacred more than 70,000 Palestinians since October 7th, 2023, alone, and has violated ceasefire agreements, propelling the ethnic cleansing and extermination of the Palestinian people.
Buying lethal weapons from Israel will send a message to the international community that the Japanese state approves of this genocide, which is unacceptable.
We demand that the Ministry of Defense and the Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency:
- Announce in advance the exclusion of Israeli-made weapons during the process of tender for “Small Attack Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) Type II & III”; or at least not purchase them.
We demand that Sumisho Aero-System Corporation and Nippon Aircraft Supply:
- Announce that they will not be the import agents for the Israeli arms company during the process of tender for “Small Attack Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) Type II & III”; or at least not participate in the tender.
Let us once again raise our voice to halt the purchase of Israeli drones by the MoD and import agent companies!
<The Background of this Petition>
On February 17, 2026, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), a state-owned defense contractor that had been considered a leading contender during the demonstration testing phase, did not participate in Japan's Ministry of Defense’s open competitive tender for Type I small attack UAVs (drones), thus no Israeli drones were selected.
It was in February 2024 that negotiations between the Ministry of Defense and civic groups revealed that 5 out of 7 (later 5 out of 9) of the attack drones selected for the Ministry’s demonstration tests—which were conducted with the intention of procurement—were Israeli-made.
Procuring weapons from Israel that commits an ongoing genocide violates international law and would make Japan complicit in war crimes; in this regard, the MoD and import agent companies bear significant responsibilities. Notably, IAI and its import agent, Kaigai Corporation—which had been extremely eager toward this drone deployment initiative, having submitted a tender of merely 1 yen (around 63 cents) in the open competitive tender for the demonstration tests—were among the companies under consideration for acquisition for FY 2026 year.
While the specific reasons why Kaigai Corporation and IAI did not even participate in the tender remain unclear, there is little doubt that the persistent protests carried out by citizens during this period had an impact.
However, both the MoD and other import agents have not given up on the idea of importing Israeli-made attack drones.
<Details of the Israeli UAVs and its agent companies selected for the demonstration test prior to the procurement of "Small Attack UAV Type II & III" in FY 2026 (*1)>
Type II: HERO-120 (Uvision)
Import agent: Sumisho Aero-System Corporation (Sumitomo Corporation’s subsidiary)
Type III: SkyStriker (Elbit Systems)
Import Agent: Nippon Aircraft Supply (NAS)
Demonstration testing was conducted with the intention of procurement. These products likely enter this tender as candidate models.
Surely, the government and the MoD took notice of the previous “don’t buy genocide drones!” protests organized by citizens.
The 14 March 2026 Kyodo News report quoted a government official that “although unmanned drones produced by Israel, known for its high technology, are among the options” from which to procure attack drones, “the widespread criticism of Israel’s attack on the Gaza Strip in Palestine” makes it difficult to win public support (*2)
In fact, initially during the demonstration test phase, half of the candidate models for the Type II small attack drone were Israeli-made, and for the Type III, all candidates were Israeli-made; however, the MoD has continued to add non-Israeli candidates since then.
As of June 2026, the share of Israeli-made models among the Type II candidates has dropped to 1 out of 5, and for Type III, to 1 out of 3 (*3).
Even after October 7, 2023, when the genocide intensified, the Ministry of Defense has purchased more than 24.3 billion yen worth of Israeli-made non-lethal weapons (*4).
The International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion issued in July 2024 clearly states that Israel’s occupation is illegal, and that all states have an obligation not to recognize the occupation as lawful or provide any support that would perpetuate the condition created by the occupation. However, by spending enormous sums to purchase Israeli-made non-lethal weapons, the MoD has been supporting Israel’s military and economy.
On top of that, the acquisition of attack drones, the lethal weapons that are currently being used to genocide Palestinians, crosses a line in complicity with genocide and is absolutely unacceptable!
Given that the government, the MoD, and the import agent companies have lost even the most basic sense of morality, public protest is our last line of defense. Let’s use our voices to once again stop the Ministry of Defense and import agent companies from purchasing Israeli drones—an unforgivable act of complicity in genocide!
*1: IAI’s Heron MK, for which Kawasaki Heavy Industries serves as the import agent, was selected at the demonstration tests of a multi-purpose attack drone, but the acquisition costs have not been included in the government’s budget for this fiscal year. Let’s keep a close eye on future developments and prevent its import.
*2:【独自】ウクライナ製無人機の導入検討 攻撃型、ロシアとの実戦経験重視（Kyodo News）https://news.jp/i/1405521417984967672?c=39550187727945729
*3: As of June 2026, the candidate models for the Small Attack UAV Types II and III (aircraft that underwent demonstration testing by the Ministry of Defense), their countries, manufacturers, and import agent companies (in brackets) are as follows.
Small Attack UAV Type II
- Drone81, Australia, DefendTex (Marubeni Aerospace)
- Hero120, Israel, Uvision (Sumisho Aero-System Corporation)
- 無人航空機 (BLK1), Japan, Fuji Imvac (Daikin Industries)
- Warmate 3, Poland, WB Electronics (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries)
- HX-2 Karma, Germany, HELSING (Rakuten Group)
Small Attack UAV Type III
- SkyStriker Type III, Israel, Elbit Systems (Nippon Aircraft Supply)
- ALTIUS-600M, United States, Anduril Industries (Sumisho Aero-System Corporation)
- Warmate 5, Poland, WB Electronics (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries)
*4: 徹底解明 軍事費 イスラエル製武器購入 裏に周到な政界工作 超党派訪問団はイスラエル政府丸抱え ガザ虐殺開始後も止まらず（Shimbun Akahata）https://jqak8jnh-7nzd.jcp.or.jp/akahata/aik25/2026-02-15/2026021501_01_0.php
Recipients of the Petition
- Koizumi Shinjiro, the Minister of Defense
- Aoyagi Hajime, the Commissioner of the Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency
- Ueno Shingo, President of Sumitomo Corporation
- Ueno Tomonori, President of Sumisho Aero-System Corporation
- Matsushita Osamu, President of Nippon Aircraft Supply
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