Starting in 1973 the Japan Air Self-Defense Force received 154 F-4EJ Phantoms that were based on the USAF F-4E. 138 of these aircraft were manufactured under license by Mitsubishi who produced the last F-4 Phantom II. Several changes were made to the F-4E to make it an F-4EJ. Basically it had any offensive weapons removed but eventually these restrictions were lifted and the aircraft were updated with missiles and the latest electronic equipment.
In March 2019 the 302nd Hikotai was disbanded with their F-4EJs going to the last Phantom squadron, the 301st Hikotai. One of the F-4Ejs was 37-8315 that was produced as c/n 4206/M015. The fate of the 302nd would also happen to the 301st in 2020 when the last F-4s would fly for Japan and would be replaced by the F-35. To mark the 301st disbanding F-4EJ 37-8315 was given a special paint scheme titled “Go for it!! 301 SQ”. The 301st mascot is a type of frog found locally at Hyakuri AB.
