Japan Likely to Join F-35 Production

Japan is poised to allow domestic industry to participate in international F-35 production, breaking the Asian nation’s long-time ban on weapons export, reports AFP. The Japanese government is expected on Nov. 9 to decide on Japanese industry’s participation in the F-35 strike fighter program, with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda formally announcing the decision to President Obama during an international summit in Cambodia next month, according to AFP’s Nov. 8 report. Japanese companies could produce upwards of 40 percent of components used in international F-35s by 2017, states the report, citing the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun. As a result of the terms imposed by the United States after World War II, Japan’s constitution forbids offensive military forces. Subsequent Japanese laws strictly limit military sales. Earlier this year, the Pentagon announced the foreign military sale of up to 42 F-35A jets to Japan.