Mitsubishi out of the picture for helping Japan with the F-35

Would hate to go forward with a project like this without the help of Mitsubishi, but... they are out.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. decided not to supply parts to an international project to manufacture F-35 stealth fighters for the second straight year because of a disagreement with the Defense Ministry over investment.

Mitsubishi Heavy was expected to supply the body for F-35s in fiscal 2015, part of the government-led project to promote Japanese participation in an international project to produce an advanced fighter aircraft for the first time.

Mitsubishi Heavy estimated it needed nearly 10 billion yen ($97.4 million) in investment for plant and equipment to meet plans to annually produce 24 F-35s for Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and foreign militaries.

The company asked the government to shoulder the investment required to produce the fighters for foreign clients, but the Defense Ministry refused, ministry sources said.

Mitsubishi Heavy’s participation in the project as a parts supplier now remains “nowhere in sight,” according to a senior Defense Ministry official, meaning that the program will likely be drastically scaled down