The Pentagon has not seriously considered the possibility of selling the F-22 stealth fighter to Japan despite a high-level request from Tokyo last year, Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, said on Sunday.

Shinzo Abe, the former Japanese prime minister, last year told President George W. Bush that Tokyo was interested in buying the sophisticated fighter, also known as the Raptor. Japanese officials were hoping the Pentagon would take the lead in urging Congress to overturn a law that bars sales of the aircraft to foreign countries.