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Thursday July 26, 12:47 PMJapan suggests U.S. F-22A export ban to affect new fighter choice(Kyodo) _ Japan's top government spokesman indicated Thursday that a U.S. House of Representatives panel's decision to maintain a ban on the export of F-22A Raptor stealth fighter jets would affect Tokyo's selection of successor aircraft to the aging F-4EJ fighter fleet.While declining to comment directly on the Appropriations Committee's decision, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki told a regular news conference, "For Japan's own national security, it is necessary that our nation further our considerations and choose the best answer from within the conditions we are given." Asked if Japan would continue to request information from Washington on the state-of-the-art F-22A fighter, Shiozaki only said, "We have close ties under the Japan-U.S. alliance, so I believe we shall exchange various kinds of information." The committee on Wednesday approved a draft defense budget for fiscal 2008 that maintains a clause to ban export of the fighter. The move is believed to reflect U.S. concerns about a possible leak of sensitive U.S. technology if the F-22A is sold to Japan. The fighter has been widely seen as the leading candidate for Japan's procurement of successor aircraft to the F-4EJ. The Defense Ministry aims to decide on the model by next spring so that it can request in the summer funds for the fiscal 2009 budget. The F-22A had apparently become Tokyo's top choice due to its high stealth capability to evade radar detection, mobility in supersonic speed, and use by the U.S. Air Force, with which Japan's Air Self-Defense Force would engage in joint operations in the event of an attack on Japan. The fighter costs about 25 billion yen (about $20 million) per plane, compared with 10 billion yen for the conventional F-15 fighter. |
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