White House welcomes Japan's decision to send Patriot missiles to US

The White House on Friday thanked Japan for its decision to send domestically-made Patriot missile defense systems to the United States, saying the transfer would "replenish US inventories."

The United States has sent Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine as part of a massive military aid effort to help Kyiv fight back against Russia's invasion.

It is pertinent, western powers have been running out of ammunition to supply Ukraine in its defence against Russia's invasion.

Patriot missiles are among the most advanced weapons supplied by the US to Ukraine.

Tokyo previously only allowed for components of licensed equipment to be sent from Japan to the nation where the manufacturing licence originated. But under the new rules it can ship finished goods too.

Shortly after the government announced this change on Friday, the foreign ministry said it would ship Patriot missiles to the US to "further strengthen the Japan-US alliance".

It added that the missiles could only be sent to the US, and would require Japan's approval to be sent to a third country. Japan still bans the export of weapons to countries at war.