Japan, a key United States treaty ally in Northeast Asia, has expanded its F-35A stealth fighter aircraft deployment amid persistent Russian military activities near the country.

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment by email.

Why It Matters

Japan is part of the First Island Chain, a U.S. maritime containment strategy that seeks to restrict Russia and China’s military access to the wider Pacific Ocean. It has bolstered its defense capabilities by purchasing 105 F-35A and 42 F-35B jets from Washington.

The Russian military frequently operates in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea in South Korea, which is located to the south of Russia’s Far East and west of Japan.

The Japanese Defense Ministry reported that a Russian Il-20 spy plane flew from north to south on April 4 within international airspace over the Sea of Japan off the coasts of the Japanese islands of Hokkaido and Honshu. It returned to the Russian Far East afterward.

What To Know

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force announced that three F-35A fighter aircraft arrived at Komatsu Air Base on April 1, located in the western prefecture of Ishikawa that borders the Sea of Japan. They will replace older F-15 fighter jets.

According to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, a total of seven F-35A fighter jets will be deployed to Komatsu this fiscal year. The air base is scheduled to receive an additional 29 F-35A jets from fiscal year 2026 to 2029, forming a fleet of 36 state-of-the-art aircraft.

Komatsu is now the second location in Japan that hosts the country’s F-35A combat jets after Misawa Air Base, which is located in the northeastern prefecture of Aomori on the Pacific coast, the report said. The first Japanese F-35A jet was delivered to Misawa in 2018.

The expansion of the Japanese F-35A fighter jet deployment comes after the U.S. sent some of its own F-35s to Japan in two groups, with the deployment of F-35As at Kadena Air Base in January and F-35Bs at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in March.

The F-35 is a family of stealth air frames with three variants. The most common variant is the F-35A, operating from conventional runways. The F-35B can execute short takeoff and vertical landing, and the F-35C is specifically built for deployment aboard aircraft carriers.

Japan’s F-35Bs will be embarked aboard two Izumo-class helicopter-carrying destroyers, which are currently being modified into the first Japanese aircraft carriers since World War II.

What People Are Saying

Komatsu Air Base wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter): “[The] Japan Air Self-Defense Force will continue to refine and strengthen our nation’s air defense capabilities through the deployment of F-35A and other aircraft.”

Japan’s defense white paper 2024 said: “Russia has been conducting intensive military activities in the Far East encompassing the Northern Territories, while continuing its aggression against Ukraine. Russia has also been observed engaging in joint activities with China involving aircraft and vessels.”

The Northern Territories, also known as the Southern Kuril Islands in Russia, are a group of four islands ruled by Moscow captured from Japan following the end of World War II.

What Happens Next

It remains to be seen whether Japan will purchase additional F-35 fighter aircraft from the U.S., as the Trump administration has urged its “vital ally” to boost its defense spending.