Japan gives up bid to slash funding of U.S. military bases

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Saturday, Dec. 8, 2007

Japan gives up bid to slash funding of U.S. military bases

Kyodo News

Tokyo will not seek to substantially cut its burden-sharing of labor and other operational costs for U.S. bases in Japan from next April, reaching a tentative agreement with Washington to keep it at the fiscal 2007 level of about ¥140.9 billion, government sources from both sides said Friday.

The two sides, negotiating on revisions to the Special Measures Agreement on cost-sharing for a three-year renewal, are expected to reach a formal accord next week. Japan had hoped to curtail its "host-nation support" for U.S. bases amid a massive national debt and to reach such an accord with the United States before compiling the fiscal 2008 budget later this month.

Japan had initially proposed to the U.S. to cut ¥30 billion in labor costs and ¥25 billion in utility costs over five years from fiscal 2008, which begins in April, the sources said.

However, Japan decided to give up on the request due to recent developments — strained relations with Washington since the withdrawal of Japan's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean when the legislation expired on Nov. 1, and Japan's hopes that the United States will not take North Korea off the list of states sponsoring terrorism.