Japan gets first woman fighter pilot

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Japan is poised to have its first female fighter pilot, the military said Thursday.

"Ever since I saw the movie 'Top Gun' when I was in primary school, I have always admired fighter jet pilots," Lieutenant Misa Matsushima, 26, of Japan Air Self-Defense Force, told local media.

Matsushima finished her training Wednesday to fly F-15s and will officially be named a fighter pilot on Friday, the ministry said in a brief statement.

First Lieutenant Misa Matsushima poses beside an F-15J air superiority fighter at Nyutabaru airbase in Miyazaki Prefecture, August 23, 2018. /VCG Photo

"I wish to continue to work hard to fulfill my duty (not just for myself but) also for women who will follow this path in the future," she said.

The air force decided in 1993 to open all positions to women, except for pilots of fighter jets and reconnaissance aircraft.

But the limit was lifted in 2015, opening the way for Matsushima to join the elite group of fighter pilots, with three other women now going through training.

Women account for a mere 6.4 percent of Japan's 228,000 troops.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called on the nation's corporate world to open leadership positions to women but with little visible success.

(Cover: First Lieutenant Misa Matsushima of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force poses in the cockpit of an F-15J air superiority fighter at Nyutabaru airbase in Miyazaki Prefecture, August 23, 2018. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP