Japan's Deployment of F-35A Mired In Controversy

Japan's Deployment of F-35A Mired In Controversy: Cutting-edge stealth fighter jet has no Japanese-made parts

TOKYO --- Japan deployed its first F-35A stealth fighter jet Friday amid rising tension on the Korean peninsula. But the price tag keeps increasing for the cutting-edge aircraft, and the defense industry here is not happy with its diminished participation in production.

"At a time when countries around us are rapidly strengthening their air combat capabilities, the deployment of the F-35A jets has an extremely important significance for our national security," Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters the same day.

A successor to the aging F-4 fighter, the F-35A is armed with advanced radar-evading capabilities and upgraded missile sensors. The one deployed Friday at the Misawa Air Base in northern Japan was manufactured by Lockheed Martin of the U.S., with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries handling the final assembly.

The Defense Ministry will have a fleet of 10 F-35As in fiscal 2018 at Misawa, a base of the Air Self-Defense Force. The fleet is scheduled to expand to 42. The fighters have "significantly superior capabilities to deal with airspace invasion" than the current F-2 and F-15 jets, said a person familiar with the Air Self-Defense Force. Joint training is also expected with the U.S. Air Force, which also uses the Misawa base. (end of excerpt)

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