The government formally decided Saturday to begin joint development of a next-generation interceptor missile with the United States in April -- a move critics say will create tension in East Asia.
Japan is expected to shoulder $1 billion to $1.2 billion of the total cost of the project in the nine years from 2006 and 2014, while the U.S. will bear as much as $1.5 billion.
The decision was endorsed by the Security Council of Japan and the Cabinet. The Defense Agency gained 3 billion yen for the project in the fiscal 2006 budget, which was also approved Saturday by the Cabinet.