Swiss National Armaments Director visits Japan to explore defence cooperation

National Armaments Director Urs Loher was on a business trip in Japan from 4 to 7 August 2026. The work-related discussions and meetings with authorities and industry focused on armament policy topics and potential future cooperations in the defence sector.

National Armaments Director Urs Loher was in Japan from 4 to 7 August 2026. Here, discussions were held with Japanese authorities. He visited the Japanese counterpart of armasuisse, the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA). This was followed by a further visit to the Future Capabilities Development Center (FCDC), a research centre of ATLA. The FCDC researches, tests and assesses innovative defence technologies for future military capabilities. The Center focuses on inter-divisional technologies, information and communications systems, sensory analysis, electronic warfare as well as the integration of new technologies in future defence systems. In addition, the National Armaments Director visited the Deputy Minister for International Relations of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Apart from the meetings with authorities mentioned above, meetings with the Japanese companies Mitsubishi Electric, Blue Innovation Co.Ltd., AirKamuy and Solafune were also held.
First visit to Japan
The National Armaments Director took part in discussions on national and international armament policy developments during the various meetings. The visits also focused on discussions concerning a potential cooperation. This is particularly important in light of the armament policy strategy of the Federal Council, one of whose goals is to also intensify future armament cooperations with democratic nations outside of Europe, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.