Washington may allow Tokyo to participate in the project even without assurances from Japan that it will procure the F-35, Kyodo News reported, quoting sources from both governments.

The move is intended to clear the way for Japan to introduce the F-35 as its future mainstay fighter as countries not participating in the joint development would not be allowed to acquire it at an early date, Kyodo said.

Tokyo's participation would be limited to developing components to be provided exclusively to its air defence force as Japan bans weapons and arms-technology exports, Kyodo quoted the sources as saying.

The F-35 is being jointly developed by the United States, Australia, Britain and other countries, Kyodo said.

It is due to be ready for operational use in the mid-2010s. Countries involved in the joint development are expected to be able to acquire the fighter on a preferential basis, the report added.

Japan initially aimed to acquire the US F-22 stealth fighter to replace its aging F-4EJ fighter fleet, but US law prohibits exports of the F-22 and the United States has announced a plan to halt production of the model.

Japan has also studied other models such as the F/A-18 and F-15FX, produced by the United States, and the Eurofighter, produced by a consortium of European manufacturers, as possible replacements for its fighter fleet, Kyodo said.

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