The United States and Japan have agreed...

The United States and Japan have agreed in principle on a multibillion-dollar program to make Japan’s next generation of jet fighters, a Japanese Defense Agency spokesman said. He said talks between the agency and the U.S. Department of Defense were still going on and final decisions on details would not be made until U.S. Defense Secretary Frank C. Carlucci arrives in Tokyo later this week. Japan has decided to base the new design on the U.S. F-16 made by General Dynamics, with modifications to suit its own requirements. It is expected to spend as much as $7 billion on 130 aircraft, the first of which is due to fly in 1993.