Japan’s Plan To Upgrade Fighter Jet Power

Japan plans to expand the number of bases hosting advanced F-35A stealth fighter jets amid neighboring countries’ military activities and air power modernization efforts. Chitose Air Base on Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost main island near Russia, is set to become the third base for the country’s F-35A jets, with deployment scheduled to begin in fiscal year 2030, according to a defense ministry document released on December 10. Why It Matters Japan—a key treaty ally in the United States’ Indo-Pacific strategy—is the largest foreign operator of F-35 jets outside the U.S., with 105 F-35As and 42 F-35Bs, which operate from conventional runways…