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2025 October 15 - 21 TOP3 [POLITICS]

Lockheed Martin ads carried at subway stations in Japan’s administrative district

Lockheed Martin Corporation, a major U.S. arms company, has placed advertisements in subway stations located in Japan’s administrative district, which are used by many Dietmembers and central government workers. This suggests that the company is eager to capitalize on the Japanese government’s huge military buildup plan.

Large Lockheed Martin posters are being displayed on the walls of the passageway leading to the Diet Building at Nagatacho Station. One features a working woman and an F-35 Lightning II fighter jet. Another features a child riding a bicycle and an Aegis destroyer.

Scanning the QR code on the posters reveals the weapons that Lockheed Martin Corp. is promoting for sale to Japan, including the SPY-7 radar for the “Aegis Ashore” land-based missile defense system and F-35 stealth fighter jets.

Lawyer Inoue Masanobu, an expert on Japan-U.S. security issues, said in an Akahata interview that the Japanese government likely wants to create a military-industrial-government-academia complex to turn Japan’s military industry into a “growth industry” in order to advance the country’s economy in collaboration with the U.S. military conglomerate.

Inoue added, “Lockheed Martin Corp. would be a core company in this Japan-U.S. security framework. While Japan-U.S. military complexes profit, the general public will suffer from tax hikes and cutbacks in social security programs.”

He warned, “The ads suggest that cutting-edge equipment will ensure peace and security. However, in the event of an armed conflict, it is civilians who will suffer the most.”