Japan on Tuesday chose the as-yet unproven F-35 stealth jet for its next-generation mainstay fighter, as North Korea provided a timely reminder of the region's potential for instability. In a deal worth around $4.7 billion, Japan plumped for the jet to replace its ageing fleet of F-4 fighters, despite a series of technical setbacks and fears that the US-built F-35 might be badly delayed.
"The government shall acquire 42 units of the F-35A after fiscal 2012 in order to replenish and to modernise the current fleet of fighters held by the Air Self-Defence Force," the cabinet said in a statement. Lockheed Martin's F-35 beat off competition from two other jets - the Boeing-made F/A-18 Super Hornet and the Eurofighter Typhoon.
The formal decision, which had long been expected, came the day after news of the death of Kim Jong-Il sent jitters through the region amid fears a power transition could destabilise North Korea's hardline regime. Japan was originally expected to announce its pick last week. The selection comes as China's massive military machine continues to grow and becomes increasingly assertive.
Tokyo and Beijing have butted diplomatic heads on a number of occasions, notably in a protracted - and at times ugly - spat over disputed islands in the East China Sea, known in Japan as Senkaku and in China as Diaoyu. Both countries claim sovereignty over the Japanese-administered islands, which are strategically important, but uninhabited, outcrops.
Beijing, whose military spending has grown by double digits every year for much of the past decade, is seen as using its economic and military might to press its territorial claims ever more aggressively. In January it unveiled its own stealth fighter jet. In the six months to September, Japanese jets were scrambled 83 times to respond to possible airspace violations by Chinese aircraft, Jiji press reported, a more than three-fold increase on the same period last year.
Defence Minister Yasuo Ichikawa said the F-35 fitted the bill as a modern fighter plane, suited to Japan's needs. With a price tag of around $113 million per jet, the F-35 is the most expensive weapons programme in Pentagon history and has been plagued by cost overruns and technical delays.
Last week a leaked memo revealed an array of problems exposed by flight tests, including with the landing gear and issues over airframe fatigue and vibration. The report, dubbed a "Quick Look Review" at the F-35 programme, said the technical challenges generated "a lack of confidence in the design stability" of the aircraft, which has already started production.