It was a meeting of a special kind. On Wednesday, three German and three Japanese fighter planes met at the Japanese volcano Fuji.

In one of the German Eurofighters, Ingo Gerhartz, inspector of the German Air Force, was on his way from Singapore after a flight of more than eight hours.

In one of the Japanese F2, the Chief of Staff of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Forces, General Shinji Izutsu, came out to greet him.

The high-altitude meeting of the highest-ranking Air Force generals underscores the importance that Japan attaches to the first visit by Air Force fighter jets.

The joint formation flight on Mount Fuji also symbolizes the hopes for closer cooperation after Germany discovered the Indo-Pacific.

Patrick Welter

Correspondent for business and politics in Japan based in Tokyo.

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After landing at the Hyakuri military airport north of Tokyo, Gerhartz said he was overwhelmed that his colleague received him on the fighter plane.

For his part, Izutsu praised the beauty of Gerhartz's specially painted aircraft, which fascinated him.

"I am moved by the historical significance of the joint flight of Japanese and German aircraft in the Far East," the general said.

Kind of a logistical hussar ride

The Eurofighter's visit to Japan follows several weeks of international maneuvers in Australia, during which the Germans also practiced with Japanese soldiers.

After the visit of the frigate Bayern last year, this is Germany's second military engagement in the region.

Gerhartz called the Luftwaffe's trip logical after Germany confirmed its interest in free trade and a rules-based international order in the region with the Indo-Pacific Guidelines in 2020.

He stressed that the Eurofighter presence in Asia was not directed against China or anyone else.

To substantiate this, the Eurofighters flying to Japan were unarmed.

Next year, the German army will take part in an exercise in Australia.

The Navy is targeting another visit in 2024.

Gerhartz said that he could then also imagine the participation of the Air Force.

But in political Japan there is also concern that German engagement in the Indo-Pacific will not last.

Gerhartz wanted to explore possibilities for closer cooperation with Izutsu in talks on Thursday.

The Air Force could learn a lot from Japan, he said.

Japan is already flying the F35 fighter plane, which Germany now wants to purchase.

The lieutenant general described the flight from Singapore to Japan in the Eurofighter as a kind of logistical feat.

The flight lasted more than eight hours, the Eurofighters were refueled five times in the air and at the same time the aim was to avoid the foothills of a typhoon as far as possible.

For the Air Force and for him personally, it was the longest flight of combat aircraft to date, said Gerhartz.

It was a demonstration that the Luftwaffe is ready for action in distant Asia.

Gerhartz said he knew what he was asking his Luftwaffe soldiers to do with the flight to Japan.

"That's why it was important to me to take part as a pilot and to show: I'm there."