With its Dec. 20 decision to purchase Lockheed-Martin's Joint Strike Fighter F-35 Lightning II as Japan's next generation fighter aircraft, the Japanese government gets to have its cake and eat it too. What Japan wants is simple: the most advanced military technology available (or at least better than what China has); activity in the domestic weapons industry; and good relations with the United States. They get all this and then some with the F-35.
Japan is well-known for favoring licensed production of foreign military technology to keep the heavy industrial companies happy. But Lockheed has said it will allow only final assembly, maintenance, upgrade and repair capabilities by Japanese companies - not a level of industrial activity that would justify the high cost of the F-35. (Japan Times)
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