Japan Holds 1st Public-Private Sector Meeting Over Australian Frigate Project; Germany Proposes Cheaper Alternative

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:46 JST, December 14, 2024

The Japanese government held the first meeting of relevant officials from the public and private sectors related to securing an order for a new type of frigate in a joint development project proposed by the Australian government, in the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Friday.

The Australian government announced on Nov. 25 that Japan and Germany had been selected as the final candidates for the partnership. The Japanese government aims to strengthen its promotional efforts through both the public and private sectors in order to win the contract.

At the meeting, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said, “We will together as an all-Japan team to present a proposal which will be the best choice for Australia.”

Officials of Japanese government entities, such as the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, and executives of related companies, including Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and Hitachi Ltd., attended the meeting. Vice Defense Minister Kazuo Masuda, the top bureaucrat of the ministry, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. President Seiji Izumisawa were chosen as cochairmen of the committee.

The Australian government plans to procure 11 of the new-type frigates and aims to build three of them abroad and the remaining eight inside the country. It will make the final decision in the latter half of next year at the earliest.

The project is expected to be worth ¥1 trillion, and Japan has proposed that the two countries jointly develop the frigate based on the design of the Mogami class, which is manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

Mogami-class frigates can be operated with about 90 crew members per ship, about half the number required by similar-sized conventional ships. They also have higher levels of versatility due to their sea mine removal capabilities.

Germany proposed that Australia’s new frigate be its MEKO A-200. Though the German frigates’ capabilities are inferior to those of the Mogami class, the costs are lower, and it has the advantage of already having been exported to other countries.

Japan had a bitter experience with the Australian government’s plan to procure a new type of submarine. Japan came very close, but the deal was taken by France.

Izumisawa said at the meeting, “We want to clear hurdles one by one.”