On Nov. 20, Japan’s ministry of defense announced it would buy billions of dollars’ worth of American-made aircraft and vehicles, including high-tech V-22 Osprey tiltrotors and the latest RQ-4 Global Hawk spy drones.

The new weapons are part of Tokyo’s evolving strategy for deterring—and potentially fighting—China’s increasingly aggressive armed forces in the Western Pacific.

In addition to the Global Hawks, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force will get E-2D Advanced Hawkeye radar early-warning planes. The V-22s will belong to the Ground Self-Defense Force, as will a new fleet of AAV7 amphibious vehicles..

It also begun planning “a multirole ship capable of command and control, large-scale transportation and aviation use for amphibious operations.” The ministry should begin defining the specifications of this new vessel in the next financial year.
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Tokyo rearms to keep up with Beijing

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well, they can't rely on us any more...

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I'm surprised they went with an E-2D instead of something like a 737 or 767 based airframe.  The range and power of something mounted on the 737 much like the Aussies have would be hugely beneficial.  Unless of course they are thinking of bringing back aircraft carriers for the Japanese Navy