All national dailies wrote that the GOJ on Wednesday explained to the ruling coalition’s working team discussing the National Defense Program Guidelines its plan to procure F-35A and F-35B fighter jets. The papers wrote that the GOJ also told the working team that it is also planning to convert two Izumo-class MSDF vessels to de facto “aircraft carriers.” The working team reportedly asked the government to further explain how the plan is consistent with its view that the Constitution does not allow Japan to possess “attack aircraft carriers.”

Asahi wrote that the working team agreed to call Izumo a “multipurpose escort ship” and that the GOJ and the ruling coalition will support this idea for the purpose of deflecting criticism from the opposition bloc that Japan cannot possess an “attack aircraft carrier” under the Constitution.

In a related development, Sankei claimed that the Ministry of Defense has decided that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will forgo participating in the final assembly of F-35As to be procured by the ASDF in order to curb the procurement cost, explaining that Japan will be able to save 3 to 5 billion yen per unit if it purchases finished products.