JASDF's upcoming stealth fighter O.o

[TheOldDog]

Originally Posted by requiem

The US should just be good friends and sell it to them

The US was 'really good friends' with Australia and sold us a bunch of FA-18's quite a few years ago.

Australia then asked for the codes to the radar so that the signature systems could be configured to deal with potential enemy aircraft we would encounter in our region of the world.

For several years the codes were 'coming' but never arrived (lost in the post perhaps). Requests for them slowly passed from the Aus-US military to the Aus-US political heirachy itself. It became an open joke within the air force that it was the intention of the US not to allow the planes to fly except against enemies of the US in the northern hemisphere.

In the end Australian scientists had to reverse engineer the radar system to get something that would work properly.

So, in deference to your post, the original picture in the thread probably IS the F22 the US will sell to Japan. However somewhere along the line the plane clearly passed through a hood and a gang had it up on blocks in 30 seconds so they could steal the wheels. Not the fault of the US though.... the delivery company screwed up.

[sekiryu]

Japan getting all armed up and ready is quite scary...

Yeah, because they're going to attack Pearl Harbor again

Originally Posted by Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution

Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.

[[R-MOD]Bob_Marley]

An article in a constitution that is already breached by the existance of the Japanese Self Defense Force (though this has been justifed by the qualification that its a purely defensive force, it breaches the letter of the constitution as Japan is not permitted to bear arms, officially) and also that the right to international belligerance may be brought back, if reforms from the ruling party are accepted (though I haven't heard much about that for some time)

[sekiryu]

Not breached. Loop holed. However, you can't loophole the first clause, the one I posted.

It seems some people (better read "idiots") think that Japan is still our enemy.

[[R-MOD]Bob_Marley]

Chapter II. Renunciation of War

Article 9. Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.
In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.

Breached.

[NYgurkha]

I'm not scared about the fact that they are arming up, im just sacred of the reasons why. East Asia is getting more volatile every day, and it has nuclear powered behemoths, and growing military might. Japan as a nation is generally hated around the East for their past and Japan arming up isn't really sending a good message to its neighbors.

[sekiryu]

The Self-Defense Forces, legally speaking, are not classified as an army, navy, or air force. They are extensions of the national police force. Therefore, there is no breach.

Even if it were a breach, we're the ones at fault, not the Japanese. We helped rearm (and retrain) them.