PanOrient News | Some in Japan Oppose U.S. Military Assistance

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Some in Japan Oppose U.S. Military Assistance

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Tokyo- (PanOrient News) Japan will continue economic financial assistance to host United States military bases on its territory, with the two countries signing a five-year deal on Friday.

The deal will maintain financial support at the current level of 188.1 billion yen for a five-year period from fiscal 2011.

''I am confident that the new pact will help reduce the base-hosting burden on the people in Okinawa,'' said Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara at a signing ceremony held at his ministry. ''I would also like to declare that we will stop using the term 'sympathy budget' to describe the host-nation support, because this pact on our spending will be signed from the strategic viewpoints of the two countries.''

U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos also took part in the event. He said Japan's support would allow the U.S. ''to maintain some of the critical defense capabilities that are not only important for the defense of Japan, but critical for the stability in this region of the world.''

''I sincerely thank Mr. Maehara, the Japanese government for this important contribution, and we look forward to continuing to not only maintain but strengthen the most important alliance with one of the United States' best friends in the entire world,'' he added.

But some members of the Japanese Parliament (Diet) object to the new deal, saying the need for such bases has long since passed.

“It is shameful that Japan offsets 70-80 percent of the expenses of U.S. bases,” says Mikishi Daimon of the Japan Communist Party in an interview with PanOrient News.“There is nothing in the pact that says Japan must shoulder such a financial burden. It’s not normal. When there were U.S. bases in the Philippines, the Philippines charged the United States for use of U.S. military sites.

“The whole thing is an anachronism, dating back to an era of military confrontation. China may be increasing its military power, but it is not to attack Japan.”
Daimon pointed out that the U.S. bases in Japan “exist as part of America’s Far East military strategy.”

Ryoichi Hattori of the Social Democratic Party was equally scathing, saying the U.S. was becoming “spoilt” by Japan’s generosity. “I think this ‘sympathy budget’ is one of the reasons why the U.S. military don’t want to leave Japan,” Hattori told PanOrient News.

The special measures agreement on Tokyo's host nation support also includes a clause that enables Japan to shoulder some of the costs of relocating the F-15 fighter units based in Okinawa to the U.S. territory of Guam.

Japan had been seeking to reduce its expenses, while the United States wanted an increase in financial assistance.

Under the agreement, the number of Japanese working for the U.S. military, whose salaries are covered by the Japanese government, will be cut by 430 from the current level of 23,055, and those serving in entertainment facilities such as golf courses and bars will be excluded completely, according to government officials.

Mr. Tsubakihara, a former high school teacher, questioned the need for such an arrangement. “Why do we need it? It is because we lost a war with the U.S. We have kept using the sympathy budget to entrust our defense to a foreign country for 65 years. It is no good. Japan should be protected by the Japanese themselves.”

PanOrient News