Japanese defence contractors, such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries, are itching to expand co-operation in other military areas as well.
An employee at Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries, one of Japan's oldest shipbuilders, he is responsible for bending a precise curve into the giant steel plates that make up the hulls of seagoing ships.
Japan is also working on a new rocket engine using composite materials from Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries and the first infrared seekers, made by Fujitsu, that can see in two colors to distinguish decoys from warheads.