August 8, 2025
Three U.S.-made F-35B stealth fighter jets were deployed to the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force Nyutabaru Base (Shintomi Town, Miyazaki Pref,) on August 7.
These aircraft are capable of short takeoffs and vertical landings (STOVL) and will be carried on the SDF “Izumo” and “Kaga” escort ships. For the first time since the end of WWII, the SDF will possess attack aircraft carriers, which is considered by legal experts to be unconstitutional.
The government stance had been that it cannot possess attack aircraft carriers under Article 9, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution, which stipulates that Japan shall not possess offensive war potential. On March 2, 2018, in an Upper House committee meeting, then-Minister of Defense Onodera Itsunori in response to a question from Japanese Communist Party Koike Akira stated that an attack-type aircraft carrier is “mainly composed of a large number of ground-attack aircraft with significant destructive power.” Given this definition, the Izumo-class warships, which will carry aircraft having advanced stealth capabilities and being capable of invading enemy territory to conduct ground attacks, will be unconstitutional offensive attack aircraft carriers.
The Defense Ministry had initially explained to the local government that the F-35Bs would conduct their STOVL training at a new SDF base on Mageshima Island (Kagoshima Pref.), not at the Nyutabaru base. Shintomi Town then agreed to the F-35B deployment. However, due to the completion of the Maegashima base construction being delayed until fiscal 2029, the government has changed its policy and decided to conduct STOVL training at the Nyutabaru base. Furthermore, it announced that, even after the completion of the new base, STOVL training will take place at the Nyutabaru base approximately 80 times per year, including nighttime exercises.
Local residents are strongly opposing the government’s policy change, denouncing it as a “betrayal.” Those living near the Nyutabaru base held a protest rally in a town square located directly below the F-15 flight path. They demanded that the F-35B deployment be withdrawn.
One resident expressed distrust in the F-35B deployment because the government did not answer residents’ questions or address their concerns about F-35Bs at briefing sessions for residents. Another resident expressed concern that deploying F-35Bs would significantly alter the nature of the Nyutabaru base. The resident, who witnessed the demonstration of an F-35B vertical landing, said, “The sound was louder than the sound of F-15s that we usually hear. I don’t think I’ll be able to tolerate this if it becomes a daily occurrence.”
These aircraft are capable of short takeoffs and vertical landings (STOVL) and will be carried on the SDF “Izumo” and “Kaga” escort ships. For the first time since the end of WWII, the SDF will possess attack aircraft carriers, which is considered by legal experts to be unconstitutional.
The government stance had been that it cannot possess attack aircraft carriers under Article 9, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution, which stipulates that Japan shall not possess offensive war potential. On March 2, 2018, in an Upper House committee meeting, then-Minister of Defense Onodera Itsunori in response to a question from Japanese Communist Party Koike Akira stated that an attack-type aircraft carrier is “mainly composed of a large number of ground-attack aircraft with significant destructive power.” Given this definition, the Izumo-class warships, which will carry aircraft having advanced stealth capabilities and being capable of invading enemy territory to conduct ground attacks, will be unconstitutional offensive attack aircraft carriers.
The Defense Ministry had initially explained to the local government that the F-35Bs would conduct their STOVL training at a new SDF base on Mageshima Island (Kagoshima Pref.), not at the Nyutabaru base. Shintomi Town then agreed to the F-35B deployment. However, due to the completion of the Maegashima base construction being delayed until fiscal 2029, the government has changed its policy and decided to conduct STOVL training at the Nyutabaru base. Furthermore, it announced that, even after the completion of the new base, STOVL training will take place at the Nyutabaru base approximately 80 times per year, including nighttime exercises.
Local residents are strongly opposing the government’s policy change, denouncing it as a “betrayal.” Those living near the Nyutabaru base held a protest rally in a town square located directly below the F-15 flight path. They demanded that the F-35B deployment be withdrawn.
One resident expressed distrust in the F-35B deployment because the government did not answer residents’ questions or address their concerns about F-35Bs at briefing sessions for residents. Another resident expressed concern that deploying F-35Bs would significantly alter the nature of the Nyutabaru base. The resident, who witnessed the demonstration of an F-35B vertical landing, said, “The sound was louder than the sound of F-15s that we usually hear. I don’t think I’ll be able to tolerate this if it becomes a daily occurrence.”
