June 2, 2023

A next-generation fighter model currently under joint development by Japan, the U.K., and Italy may be exported to third countries and used in armed conflict.

Defense Minister Hamada Yasukazu did not deny this possibility at an Upper House Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting on June 1. Responding to a question made by Japanese Communist Party legislator Yamazoe Taku, DM Hamada said, "Discussions will be held at some future time on how the new model will be used."

The next-generation fighter jets will be deployed in 2035. The latest generation of fighters will be a successor model to F-2 fighters for Japan and "Euro Fighters" for the U.K. and Italy.

Yamazoe pointed out that 72 of the 100 Saudi fighter jets used by a Saudi-led alliance in its airstrikes against Yemen in 2015 were Euro Fighters which had been exported to Saudi Arabia with approval of the U.K. government.

Using the data he obtained from a human rights organization, Yamazoe said, "The Saudi-led coalition conducted 2,724 airstrikes in about three months. It bombed roads and bridges, and caused mass civilian casualties."

He expressed his concern over possible exports of the new model to third countries to be used in combat.