I think you have this the wrong way round. Our whale slaughtering, protected species hunting, un-repentant friends are driving this one. It's the Japanese who are "toadying up" to the French to get a slice of Airbus building. Our Japanese friends are some of the World's most extreme "vested interest" exponents and unfortunately, are allowed to get away with it time after time. IMHO, they have no interest in SST whatsoever. They are not there for the learning experience, to assist or for the culture, merely for the bucks in something else.