Nikkei Asia recently published a feature examining opportunities and institutional barriers to drone industry cooperation between Taiwan and Japan. The report cited Hung-Yuan Teng, Policy Analyst in the National Security Program at the Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET), who noted that Taiwan and Japan currently maintain different regulatory frameworks for drone certification, electrical safety, and communication systems. The absence of mutual recognition mechanisms not only increases compliance costs for companies seeking to enter each other’s markets, but also complicates government procurement of drone systems from the other side.
The report highlighted comments by Kakuya Iwata, Executive Director of the Japan UAS Industry Development Association (JUIDA), who said that Taiwan and Japan have close manufacturing ties and a strong foundation for commercial drone cooperation between their companies. However, government policies and regulatory frameworks have yet to keep pace with growing industry links. Differences in drone-related regulations, together with Japan’s institutional restrictions on defense cooperation, have become key obstacles to further deepening bilateral cooperation.
In his interview with Nikkei Asia, Teng explained that Taiwan and Japan each have their own standards governing drone certification, electrical safety, and communication systems. However, the lack of cross-border mutual recognition arrangements creates additional compliance burdens for companies seeking to enter each other’s markets, while also making it more difficult for the two governments to procure each other’s drone systems.
Teng further pointed to Taiwan–U.S. cooperation as an example, noting that certification bodies in Taiwan and the United States have developed mechanisms including the Green UAS certification pathway to help Taiwanese companies meet U.S. market standards. By comparison, no similar institutional framework currently exists between Taiwan and Japan. To transform existing industry exchanges into stable and scalable supply chain cooperation, the two sides will need to gradually establish mechanisms for certification alignment, standards coordination, and mutual recognition.
The report also cited DSET’s latest Taiwan-Europe Drones policy report research showing the rapid growth of Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe. In the first quarter of 2026, Taiwan exported 136,010 drones to Europe, surpassing the 107,433 completed drones exported to the region during all of 2025. Iwata argued that, as European demand continues to grow while Taiwan’s production capacity still needs to expand, Japan could leverage its manufacturing strengths—including the production of key components such as motors—to create new opportunities for Taiwan–Japan cooperation.
Nikkei Asia noted that, amid China’s continued military buildup and export control measures affecting Japanese entities, the importance of deeper Taiwan–Japan cooperation in technology and security is increasing. While industrial exchanges between the two sides are gaining momentum, building a more resilient democratic drone supply chain will require further government efforts in regulatory coordination, market information exchange, and institutional cooperation.
DSET will release its latest policy report on Taiwan–Japan drone cooperation in the second half of this year. Stay tuned.
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