Gates urges Japan to relax arms policy

TOKYO, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has asked Japan to relax its ban on arms exports and ship advanced missile interceptors to allies, sources say.

Citing unnamed sources, the Kyodo News service reported Gates made the request last week during talks with Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa, presumably meant to pave the way for Tokyo to supply European countries with the latest SM-3 missile defense interceptors.

Japan is jointly developing the ship-based SM-3 interceptors with the United States. Gates's reported request comes after U.S. President Barack Obama moved to replace a planned Central European missile defense shield with a ship-based program to be deployed by European forces as a safety measure should Iran launch missiles in that direction, Kyodo said.

Gates's request reportedly has drawn the opposition of pacifists within the ruling Democratic Party of Japan and one of its coalition partners, the Social Democratic Party, who want to preserve Tokyo's ban on arms exports to any nation but the United States, the news service said.

The sources said Kitazawa did not make a direct response to Gates, telling him the government would study the matter.