U.S. positive about selling F-22s fighter jets to Japan

A White House official leaned positively Wednesday toward selling U.S. fighter jets to Japan, an issue Tokyo is highly interested in to counter North Korea and China but which, in the case of F-22s, is restricted by U.S.domestic laws, Yonhap News Agency reported.

According to the report, Dennis Wilder, senior Asia director at the National Security Council, said the U.S. is "very positively disposed" to talk to the Japanese about the future-generation fighter aircraft.

"The Japanese obviously feel some threat in relation to North Korea and its development of missile and nuclear capabilities," he was quoted as saying at a briefing a day before Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe comes to Washington.

He also noted Japan`s concerns about China, which he said was modernizing its air force "at a rapid pace."

But Wilder didn`t specify which model would be discussed.