Japanese Defence Minister Takeshi Iwaya announced on Saturday that Tokyo would continue buying American fighter jets despite the recent F-35 crash in the northern part of the country.
"At the moment, we have no information that could lead to a change in the plans [to purchase F-35A]. We do not intend to change our plans for the acquisition and deployment of such aircraft", the minister said as cited by the Kyodo news agency.
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6 April 2019, 11:12 GMT
He also noted that Washington had promised Japan full support in investigating the catastrophe by sending a ship that could conduct deep sea search and recovery operations.
The Japanese jet that sank in the Pacific Ocean on 9 April became the first case of an F-35A crashing, as the model, introduced in 2016, has only recently come into service in various countries.
