Japan is considering the purchase of 100 US stealth fighters: a report

Tokyo: Japan plans to buy up to 100 F-35 stealth fighters from the United States for more than $ 8.8 billion as it seeks to counter the military presence China's growing region, a newspaper reported on Tuesday. The announced purchase comes as President Donald Trump urges Japan to buy more military equipment and other US products, thereby highlighting the huge trade deficit that Washington has with Tokyo.

Japan has already decided to buy 42 stealth F-35 fighter planes in the United States. It is now planned to buy 100 more, worth over a trillion yen ($ 8.8 billion), according to the evening edition of the daily Nikkei. The cabinet is expected to approve the plan in mid-December when the country's defense program guidelines will be published, the business daily

said. A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense refused to confirm this information, stating that: "Everything concerning additional purchases is under consideration." In September, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reportedly told Trump: "It is important to have high quality military equipment, including US, to strengthen Japan's defense."

Tokyo is also planning to modernize its helicopter carriers to transport and launch them. Fighter jets, Kyodo News reported, citing a government source. The government is seeking to modernize Izumo, a flat-roofed destroyer that is currently carrying helicopters, into a full-fledged aircraft carrier that is critical to China's claim in the maritime field, said the local press agency.

China deploys its first stealth fighter to military service during the last stage highlighting the modernization of the country's armed forces. The 1950-ton clbad Izumo aircraft carriers – the largest ships of the Japanese navy after the war – measure 248 meters (818 feet) long and can carry up to 14 helicopters.

The plan should also be finalized when the guidelines are released next month. added. Asked about the modernization of vessels, Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya told reporters on Tuesday: "We would like to use them for as diverse purposes as possible."

This decision indicates a change in Japanese policy focused on defense, the news agency said. Under Japan's pacifist constitution, the national army has long been restricted to self-defense and the country relies heavily on the United States as part of a bilateral security alliance.