Japan will keep seeking information on the U.S. F-22 fighter jet as it looks for a candidate to replace its aging F-4EJs, a Defense Ministry spokesman said Friday, shrugging off the decision by the U.S. House of Representatives to end funding for the stealthy aircraft that is barred from export.
Katashi Toyota, the ministry's press secretary, told reporters that Tokyo hasn't quite given up on its hope of acquiring the F-22, which is one of six candidates under consideration. The House passed a defense spending bill Thursday that scuttled the F-22 program.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said earlier in the day that Tokyo should consider "an alternative plan," but Toyota said the remarks don't indicate Japan intends to stop exploring the option.
"We recognize the F-22 as one of the world's most advanced aircraft and will continue to gather information on it as well as on other candidate models," Toyota said.
Tokyo has been eager to make the F-22 its next-generation mainstay fighter in light of its radar-evading stealth capabilities. Export of the F-22 is prohibited by U.S. law, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates in April proposed halting its production.
Under Gates' proposal, F-22 production would be halted at 187 planes. The Pentagon instead wants to produce 500 of the more modern F-35 fighter over the next five years, with an eye to eventually producing 2,400 of the planes.
The five other models Japan is studying are the F/A-18 and the F-15FX, both produced in the U.S., the F-35, which is being jointly developed by the U.S., Britain and other countries, the Eurofighter, made by a consortium of European manufacturers, and the Rafale of France. Only the F-22 and F-35 are stealth fighters.