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News Navigator: How much does Japan pay for U.S. military presence?
The Mainichi answers some common questions readers may have about how the U.S. military presence in Japan is funded by the government.
Question: I heard that the Ministry of Defense's budget request for maintaining U.S. bases in Japan was going to decrease.
Answer: The Japanese government shoulders part of the cost for stationing U.S. forces in Japan, known in Japanese as "Omoiyari yosan" (an appreciation payment), or as host nation support (HNS). These bases were first set up through the bilateral status-of-forces agreement based on Article 6 of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between Japan and the United States of America (the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty).
However, during the 70s and 80s, when the yen was strong against the dollar and the U.S. fiscal situation was worsening, Japan voluntarily began to pay part of the cost of base upkeep itself within the framework of the bilateral status-of-forces agreement. In 1978, this practice was defended by Shin Kanemaru, director general of the Defense Agency at the time: "The U.S. is not requesting this, so a consideration would be permissible."
Q: How much is it?
A: In the fiscal 2009 budget, the "consideration" stood at a cool 192.8 billion yen. This includes allowances for barracks and other housing and welfare support for Japanese employed at the bases. Since fiscal 1987, considering the growing U.S. budget deficit, Japan has taken on additional expenses that are not covered by the Japan-U.S. Status-of-Forces Agreement by signing special accords. They include salaries and other allowances for Japanese employees, utilities bills, and expenses for relocating training sites. This peaked in fiscal 1999 at 275.6 billion yen, but has since been decreasing due to Japan's tight budget.
Q: I heard it was also classified by the Government Revitalization Unit.
A: Japanese salaries and other payments were ordered to be reviewed. Currently, the request for next fiscal year's budget stands at 123.3 billion yen. However, revised pay standards must be negotiated with the U.S. and labor unions, and the Defense Ministry has criticized the cost-cutting panel for the classification.
Q: Didn't the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) oppose the payments?
A: During a Diet session in April last year, the DPJ voted against a special arrangement to extend the payments for another three years, in part because taxpayers' money was being spent for recreational uses (to cover wages for bars, golf courses) on the bases. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama later said that: "A comprehensive review is needed in order to efficiently and effectively bear the costs." The current special payment agreement expires in March 2011, and the government is planning a set of full-blown negotiations with the U.S. before that. (Answers by Tadashi Sengoku, Political News Department)
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(Mainichi Japan) December 4, 2009