Japan currently has about 60 F-4 Phantom strike fighters known for their extensive use by the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marines during the Vietnam war.
"We are considering the Eurofighter Typhoon or the French-manufactured Rafale among others," the source said.
"Japan believes that the U.S. F-22A Raptor fighter is a wonderful aircraft but its purchase has to be approved by U.S. Congress and that poses a serious problem," he said.
The export sale of the F-22, which is a fifth-generation stealth fighter jointly produced by Lockheed Martin and Boeing, is barred by the U.S. legislation.
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine multi-role strike fighter aircraft, designed and built by a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers through Eurofighter GmbH.
The aircraft has formally entered service with the Air Force in four countries, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and Italy, while Austria has purchased 18 Typhoons and Saudi Arabia has ordered 72 aircraft.
The Dassault Rafale is a French twin-engine multi-role fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. It has recently been adopted by the French Air Force and Navy, although no foreign sales have yet been made.
