Japan to deploy stealth fighters from 2024 amid Chinese assertiveness in East China Sea ANI | Updated: Apr 08, 2021 08:28 IST Tokyo [Japan], April 8 (ANI): Japan will deploy the F-35B stealth fighter aircraft for the first time from 2024, a decision strongly influenced by the perceived threat posed by China's military to Japanese territory in the East China Sea. Local media reports said that the airfield is some 1,030km northeast of the disputed Diaoyu Islands (Senkaku Islands) that are claimed by China but controlled by Japan, reported South China Morning Post (SCMP). F-35B jets would be based at the Air Self-Defence Force's Nyutabaru Air Base in southern Miyazaki Prefecture, sources told the Yomiuri newspaper.