Cabinet approves plan to adapt ships to create aircraft carriers and buy 45 new stealth fighters
Japan will bolster air and sea defences amid “strong concern” about growing Chinese air and naval activity in the region, according to newly released defence guidelines.
The guidelines, adopted by the cabinet on Tuesday, include plans to adapt two existing helicopter carriers so that they can accommodate fighter jets – effectively turning them into aircraft carriers.
Under the 10-year plan, Japan will improve the defence of its outlying Pacific islands in response to Chinese military expansion, as Tokyo – the US’s key ally in the Asia-Pacific – comes under pressure from the Trump administration to take more responsibility for its own security.
Japan will buy forty-five F-35 stealth fighters in addition to 42 jets that are already on order, according to a separate five-year procurement plan the cabinet approved the same day. It will also acquire two US land-based Aegis missile defence systems, as well as other American missile interceptors.
Overall, Japan will spend a record 27.
