Japan, Britain, Italy mull defense chief talks in Tokyo in Dec.

Japan, Britain and Italy are considering holding defense ministerial talks in Tokyo in the latter half of December to reaffirm their plan for joint development of a next-generation fighter jet, sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and his British and Italian counterparts, Grant Shapps and Guido Crosetto, will likely agree to set up a coordinating body for developing the jet and will keep the deployment target year of 2035, according to the sources.

The warplane co-development deal was reached last December. Japan wants to develop a successor to...