Latest news with #F-2s
Kyodo News
4 days ago
- Business
- Kyodo News
Kyodo News Digest: Aug. 8, 2025
TOKYO - The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News. ---------- Japan says U.S. to correct tariff deal "mistake" WASHINGTON - The United States has admitted to a "mistake" in implementing part of a bilateral trade deal with Japan and has agreed to correct it in line with what both sides agreed to about two weeks ago, a Japanese negotiator said Thursday. Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, told reporters in Washington that the United States has also promised that import taxes collected as a result of the mistake will be refunded to importers. ---------- Special heavy rain warning issued for Japan's Kagoshima Prefecture TOKYO - Japan's weather agency issued a special heavy rain warning for Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Friday morning, as rain battered the southwestern island of Kyushu. The Satsuma and Osumi areas in the prefecture have been seeing severe precipitation for some time, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. ---------- Japan's household spending in June up 1.3% on year TOKYO - Japan's household spending rose a real 1.3 percent in June from a year earlier, government data showed Friday. Households of two or more people spent an average of 295,419 yen ($2,012) in the reporting month, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. ---------- Japan logs current account surplus of 14.6 trillion yen in 1st half TOKYO - Japan posted a current account surplus of 14.60 trillion yen ($99.5 billion) in the first half of 2025, the Finance Ministry said Friday. In June alone, the country logged a 1.35 trillion yen current account surplus. ---------- SDF F-2A fighter jet crashes in Pacific off east Japan, pilot rescued TOKYO - An Air Self-Defense Force F-2A fighter jet crashed Thursday in the Pacific off eastern Japan during a training flight, with the pilot rescued after escaping the aircraft before impact. The pilot in his 30s ejected from the aircraft before it went down around 12:35 p.m. off the coast of Ibaraki Prefecture, according to the ASDF, which later announced it grounded all 90 F-2s unless needed for urgent duties such as airspace violation responses. ---------- Young Japanese brewers promote sake in Beijing ahead of 3-day event BEIJING - Young Japanese sake brewers promoted their products Thursday at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing ahead of a three-day event in the capital from the following day to pitch the drink in China, Japan's largest overseas market by value. At the "Sake Jump" event in Beijing, the second of its kind to be held outside of Japan following one held in Hong Kong in June, 23 brewers from 14 prefectures will showcase their sake. ---------- Cambodia, Thailand agree to ASEAN role as cease-fire observers KUALA LUMPUR - Cambodia and Thailand agreed to allow the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to observe the cease-fire the two countries reached late last month to end fighting in a disputed border area, as their top defense officials met Thursday in Malaysia, the current ASEAN chair. The meeting was held in Kuala Lumpur as Cambodia and Thailand continued to accuse each other of cross-border attacks, even after their leaders agreed to a cease-fire ending five days of fighting that began on July 24 and left 32 dead in Thailand and at least 13 in Cambodia. ---------- Medal designs revealed with 100 days to go until Tokyo Deaflympics TOKYO - Tokyo Deaflympics medals adorned with cherry blossom and origami designs were unveiled Thursday to mark 100 days until the opening of the multi-sport event for hearing-impaired athletes. Some 80,000 elementary, junior-high and high school students from across Japan voted for their favorite medal designs ahead of the event, being hosted in the country for the first time. Video: Tokyo Deaflympics medals unveiled
Hindustan Times
30-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Japan frets over fighter rollout target and weighs stopgap options, sources say
* Japan fighter project with Britain, Italy falling behind schedule, sources say * Stopgap options include F-35 purchases or upgrading older F-2s, sources say * Japan trade chief says could be arms purchases could be part of trade talks TOKYO, - Japan has growing doubts that its next-generation fighter project with Britain and Italy will meet a 2035 rollout target, potentially forcing Tokyo to plug air defence gaps with new U.S. F-35 stealth planes or upgrades to aging jets, two sources said. The joint Global Combat Air Programme established in 2022 is falling behind schedule due to a lack of urgency from Britain and Italy, which could push deployment beyond 2040, according to one of the sources. Both sources, who have knowledge of Japan's air defence discussions, were not authorised to speak to media and declined to be identified. Japan will need to begin planning soon if the GC is delayed to ensure it has enough jets to counter Chinese and Russian planes that regularly probe its air defences. While senior officials are discussing the possibility of buying more F-35s, Reuters was not able to learn if specific numbers or a timeline are under consideration. A swift decision to acquire more Lockheed Martin F-35s at around $100 million each could be a bargaining chip for Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in tariff talks with U.S. President Donald Trump. Japan's chief trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa will hold a fresh round of tariff talks with U.S. officials on Friday in Washington. Ishiba is also expected to meet Trump for their second in-person meeting in June at the Group of Seven leaders' gathering in Canada. "Japan's purchase of defence equipment would contribute to the U.S. trade surplus, so in that sense, it could be considered ," Akazawa told reporters on Thursday ahead of his departure for the U.S. capital. In 2019, in a move lauded at the time by Trump, then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered 105 F-35s, making Japan the aircraft's largest overseas buyer with a total of 147 on order. In a sign that Trump may again welcome Japanese purchases of U.S. military hardware, the Asahi newspaper reported that in a phone call with Ishiba on May 23, he discussed Boeing's planned F-47 fighter jet and encouraged his Japanese counterpart to consider U.S. aircraft. GC is an effort by Japan and its two European partners to build a next-generation fighter free from the operational restrictions that often come with purchases of U.S.-made military equipment. For example, buyers are often not allowed to do upgrades and maintenance without U.S. permission. The project is being led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan, BAE Systems in Britain and Leonardo in Italy. In Britain and Italy, GC will replace Eurofighter Typhoon jets that will be in operation until the 2040s. In Japan, it is meant to replace the F-2, a U.S. F-16 variant developed three decades ago by Mitsubishi Heavy and Lockheed Martin. Japan's concerns about a possible delay to GC's 2035 rollout stem from how much time is being taken to align each country's concept of how the aircraft will operate, said one of the sources. A spokesperson for the Japanese defence ministry's acquisition agency said the 2035 rollout target was unchanged, adding that the decommissioning of the F-2 is set to begin that year. "I am not aware of any plans to place additional orders for the F-35," he added. A British Ministry of Defence spokesperson said the three countries were focused on the project and were "making strong progress." The Italian defence ministry did not reply to a request for comment. Additional GC partners could include Saudi Arabia, which would bring funding and a lucrative market for the aircraft. Of the 147 F-35s Japan has ordered to date, 43 F-35As have been delivered while six F-35Bs, a short-take off and vertical landing variant, have been delayed, making more purchases a contentious issue. Japan could instead opt to extend the operational life of its older F-2 fleet through upgrades. "We have already paid for many items, and they haven't arrived. It's not right to be told to buy more when previous orders haven't been fulfilled," a senior ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
