TOKYO (AFP) — Japan will relax its decades-old restrictions on arms exports, allowing the sale of lethal weapons overseas, government spokesman Minoru Kihara said Tuesday.

The move ends Tokyo’s self-imposed ban on lethal arms transfers as Japan seeks to strengthen national defense, join the international arms market, and boost economic growth amid rising security concerns from China, North Korea and Russia.

Kihara said at a news conference “These decisions have been made at a time when changes in the security environment surrounding our country are occurring at an accelerating pace, and they serve to ensure Japan’s security while contributing even more to peace and stability in the region and the international community. Today, no nation can safeguard its own peace and security by itself alone.”

Exports had been limited to equipment for search and rescue, transportation, warning, surveillance, and minesweeping. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi tweeted that “with this amendment, transfers of all defense equipment will in principle become possible.”