Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba said Tuesday he hopes to see a bilateral missile defense initiative with the United States enter the development phase soon.

"The missile defense is nothing but a posture meant exclusively for self-defense," he told the House of Representatives Security Committee. "I believe we should exert efforts to get the program to leave the research phase as soon as possible."

The defense chief stressed the need for coordination within the national government and said the issue should be debated by the Security Council of Japan, which is chaired by the prime minister.