Osprey troop transporters on Japan's buy list amid fears over China
Move to purchase US-built aircraft comes as Tokyo shifts defence focus to island territories
Japan's defence ministry is pushing ahead with plans to purchase the controversial MV-22 Osprey aircraft, widely seen as the best way of rapidly transporting troops to potential hot spots.
The US-built Osprey has a top speed of 530 km/h - almost double that of current transport helicopters - and a 3,900 kilometre range that is five times the range of the CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter the United States is phasing out of service in favour of the Osprey.
The features are seen as being crucial as Japan pivots away from the ground threat posed by the former Soviet Union during the cold war to a more flexible defence based on the rapid deployment of troops to counter a threat to Japanese territory in the southwest of the island chain.
In recent years, Tokyo has perceived that threat as coming from China coveting Japanese islands that are part of Okinawa.
In spending requests for 2014 that were lodged this week, the defence ministry is seeking 100 million yen (HK$7.82 million) to study the purchase and capabilities of the Osprey. If all goes well the ministry will seek to purchase up to 20 Ospreys in 2015.
The aircraft is a hybrid with tilting rotors that allow it to take off vertically like a helicopter, while flying like a standard plane.