Photo/Illutration An illustration of the fighter jet to be jointly developed with Britain and Italy (Provided by the Defense Ministry)

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, have agreed to allow exports of next-generation fighter jets to be jointly developed with Britain and Italy.

LDP policy chief Kisaburo Tokai and his Komeito counterpart, Yosuke Takagi, reached the landmark deal on March 15.

In response, the Cabinet will approve a policy shift by the end of the month to allow the sale of the aircraft to a third country.

Following extensive debate between the LDP and the pacifist Komeito, the agreement included a safeguard to curb Japan’s unrestricted exports of military hardware and technologies.

The two officials confirmed that the export ban will be lifted for this specific model of fighter jet rather than all internationally co-developed defense equipment.

Potential importers of the aircraft are restricted to nations with relevant agreements with Japan.

Countries currently engaged in military conflict are also excluded.

The Cabinet must approve each case before a jointly developed fighter jet is exported to a third country in the future.

The next-generation aircraft will replace the Air Self-Defense Force’s F-2 fighter jets whose decommissioning is expected to start around 2035.

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