The Prefectural Nagoya Airport is located in a congested housing district in Komaki City. I can reach it from my home in Iwakura City in 20 minutes by car. It is next to the Komaki Base of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, and nearby the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Komaki South Factory is busy constructing F35A fighter planes. They seem to have expanded the factory site recently.
When talking about the F35A fighter, it is the same type of airplane which took off from Aomori Prefecture Misawa Base and crashed into the Pacific Ocean in April 2019. The cause has not yet been ascertained. We found out that the fighter plane which crashed was constructed here at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Komaki South Factory, thus evoking the interest of the residents in Iwakura City as well as Komaki city. There have also been troubles during test flights and an urgent landing at the Prefectural Nagoya Airport.
The price of one F35A fighter jet is 11,600,000,000 yen. The Abe government is planning to buy a total of 147 planes, so our taxes will of have to cover a total amount of 1,700,000,000,000 yen, at current prices.
Compare that to the entire general annual budget for 2019 of Iwakura City which is 15,700,000,000 yen. That is just a little more than the cost of a single F35 fighter plane. This August, I found it interesting to note that citizens are becoming aware that 11,600,000,000 for just one airplane is such a waste. Also, more people are becoming opposed to using our local airport as an emergency landing strip for Japan’s new fighter jet.
Mizuhara Hiroko