From left, Italy's Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada and British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace pose for a photo before their trilateral meeting in Tokyo on March 16.
Japan's government sources said a Japanese official will be the first head of a joint project with Britain and Italy to develop a future-generation fighter jet.
The senior Defense Ministry officials are among the candidates to oversee the project, which will be led in rotation by officials from the three countries.
The program, which is based in Britain, is expected to be launched later this year.
The next-generation aircraft, expected to be completed in 2035, will replace the Air Self-Defense Force's F-2.
The three companies involved in the project -Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Britain's BAE Systems plc and Leonardo SpA of Italy - will also establish a joint venture to be based in Britain.
The executives from the three companies will alternate every few years the management of the joint venture, with someone from Leonardo expected to be its first chief executive.
Although Japan will initially oversee the GCAP, the two organizations are based in Britain, meaning Tokyo would lose out on playing a leadership role in the initiative.
Japan's politicians are discussing changes to the Japanese government's policies of exporting defense equipment.
Although current guidelines limit arms sales to countries that co-developed them with Japan, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government said sales of the next-generation fighter should be allowed to a third country.