Cabinet Endorses Plan To Sell Fighter Jets.

Japan's cabinet has endorsed the export of new fighter jets it is developing with the UK and Italy.

The cabinet said, it eased arms export rules to allow the jets to be sold to countries that Japan has signed defence pacts, while, Japan has pledged to double military spending by 2027, citing threats posed by China and North Korea.

Each fighter jet sale will require cabinet approval, while, in December 2022, Japan came on board a UK-Italy collaboration, dubbed the Tempest, to develop this new fighter jet that will use artificial intelligence and advanced sensors to assist pilots.

The jets are expected to be deployed by 2035, and it is Tokyo's first defence equipment development partnership with a country other than the US, while, the latest move comes ahead of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's official visit to the US in April, where he is expected to stress Tokyo's alliance with Washington and his country's readiness to be more involved in defence partnerships.

Kishida said, that allowing the export of warplanes to third countries is "necessary" to maintain Tokyo's credibility as a partner in other future international defence projects.