Japan has allegedly shown interest in joining a NATO missile building consortium so Tokyo can take part in a multinational defense project. The US supports a plan that could enable Japan to lead similar alliances in Asia, according to a report.

In May, Japanese naval officers traveled to a NATO meeting in The Hague to get more information about the 12-country consortium, which oversees development and shares the costs of the US-made SeaSparrow missile, Japan's navy and a US source familiar with the trip told Reuters. The advanced ship-borne short-range weapon is designed to destroy anti-ship sea-skimming missiles and attack aircraft.

Two Japanese sources familiar with the initiative said that while discussions in Tokyo were at an early stage, joining the consortium would go hand in hand with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's expanding military agenda. Earlier this year, Tokyo approved its largest military budget in 70 years, raising it to nearly 5 trillion yen (US$42 billion). Last year, Japan lifted a self-imposed four-decade ban on selling weapons. The new export guidelines will "help maintain global peace and security," the government said, according to the Japan Times.