A visiting Japanese political delegation pledged closer defense ties with Taiwan, a positive signal for Taipei but another point of friction with Beijing.

• A Japan Innovation Party delegation led by lawmaker Nobuyuki Baba met President Lai Ching-te in Taipei and called for joint work on security.
• The pitch: Taiwan and Japan should pool their strengths and build complementary roles as new forms of warfare emerge, including drones.
• Baba raised Xi Jinping's coming visit to the US and China's hard line on Taiwan, saying peace in the Taiwan Strait matters to the whole world.
• Lai told the delegation Taiwan wants to raise defense spending sharply but is blocked in its own legislature.
• Japan plans to revise its three main security documents by year-end, with the party pushing for higher military spending, a domestic arms industry, and weapons exports.

Outlook: With the Japan Innovation Party now in coalition with the LDP, expect Tokyo to move toward looser arms-export rules and warmer unofficial defense contacts with Taipei.