According to a proposal presented by the executive led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan intends to transform the Izumo ship into an aircraft carrier by modifying the ramps, currently used to host the helicopters, to allow the launch of the latest generation F-35B fighters, short takeoff and vertical landing, recently purchased from the United States.
Abe, referring to the parliamentary committee, explained that "the main responsibility of the government is to protect citizens by ensuring the continuation of peace".
In the last 6 years, starting from the 2012, under the guidance of the conservative leader, the Japanese Defense budget has increased steadily, after a decade of reductions. Abe's project, however, met with significant resistance from the opposition who criticized intentions to change the anti-militarist orientation of the Defense.
According to the pacifist Constitution, in fact, Japan can not equip itself with warships, but only with equipment that guarantees its defense.
The executive maintains that the deployment of the F-35 on Izumo would not take place on a permanent basis and that the new aircraft carrier would not have the characteristics of a warship. In this regard, it is the intention of the cabinet to approve, next December 18, a new version of the "Defense Program Guidelines" that allow better planning of spending targets for the next 10 years.
At the same time, during the parliamentary hearing, Abe reiterated that Japan "it should start to abandon as quickly as possible the traditional concept of defense of its sea, land and airspace borders, in favor of a new notion that will become necessary, and which will become the basis on which the country's policy will be modeled. in the future".
