Japan has struggled to export cutting-edge defense equipment. However, past disappointments have been turned on their head after Japan won selection for a lucrative Australian frigate requirement worth up to US$6.5 billion.

Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries won a multi-billion dollar deal to build a fleet of advanced naval frigates for Australia, boosting Tokyo’s ambitions to become a major exporter of military equipment and develop its defense sector.

Australia says it has accepted a Japanese company's bid for a lucrative and hotly contested contract to build Australian naval vessels, expected to be worth 10 billion Australian dollars ($6.5 billion).