The United States has informed Japan that the cost for a joint missile defense system would nearly triple to 3 billion US dollars as the anticipated development period would be going longer, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Sunday.

Washington's initial estimate held that the United States would have to shoulder 545 million US dollars until fiscal 2011 after the project starts in fiscal 2006. The US government has asked Japan to match its offer of contributing the same amount.

But the total spending for the next-generation missile interceptor system nearly tripled after the US government extended the period for development to fiscal 2014 and recalculated the amount based on previous weaponry development projects, the daily reported, citing Japanese government sources.

Some Japanese officials have voiced concerns that Japan's burden would be rising accordingly, the paper said, adding Tokyo would move to limit its share within the cost only for the development of parts.

The amount each country contributes will be decided by the time the two governments sign an agreement next fiscal year, it said.

The Japanese government has estimated that the cost of maintaining the current missile defense system, which is scheduled to begin deployment in late fiscal 2006, at 800 billion yen to 1 trillion yen (7.2 billion dollars to 9 billion dollars). Its budget for the next-generation missile interceptor system has been earmarked separately.

Japan's Defense Agency has asked for a budget of 3 billion yen (27 million dollars) to design the jointly developed system in the fiscal 2006, the paper said.

Source: Xinhua