TOKYO (Reuters) - Two Japanese firms that until recently were the frontrunners to win a multi-billion dollar contract to build Australia's new submarines have rebuffed an invitation to attend a gathering of top Australian naval officials and politicians this week.
The no-show by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries at an event called Australia's Future Submarine Summit, held amid intensifying competition for the deal, exposes a potential weak link in Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's more muscular security agenda: Japan Inc.