TOKYO, May 4 -- Long-pacifist Japan has shed its self-imposed ban on lethal weaponry exports, gunning for a prominent place in the global defence trade - a challenging feat that analysts say could take years to achieve.

Under Japan's once-strict stance adopted following its World War II surrender and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it has generally restricted arms exports in recent times to non-lethal categories like rescue, transport and surveillance.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government scrapped these constraints last month, allowing firms to supply lethal weaponry to any of the 17 countries where Japan has defence cooperation agreements.

Prohibitions on sales to nations at war remain but can be circumvented unde...