Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his visiting British counterpart David Cameron agreed Tuesday to jointly develop defense weapons.

During his brief trip to Japan, Cameron and Noda agreed to collaborate with each other on defense projects since Japan had relaxed its weapons exports ban in December.

According to a joint statement, the two sides pledged to identify a range of appropriate defense equipment for joint development and production.

The Japanese government announced in late Dec. its decision to ease a decades-old, self-imposed ban on weapons exports, in a political shift that will allow the nation to jointly participate in arms development and production with other countries.

The move, however, had drawn the ire of some Japanese politicians and citizens, as well as neighboring countries favoring Japan's so-called pacifist stance and has ignited concern and debate on the issue.

Japan has been cooperating with the United States only on defense equipment projects such as missile shield development. The joint development with Britain would enable the country to develop such projects with countries other than the U.S., its main security alliance.

Noda and Cameron also touched upon the security issue in East Asia at Tuesday's meeting. They raised concerns over the planned satellite launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( DPRK) and urged Pyongyang to exert restraint.