Japan to Reject US Demand for Significant Increase in Military Base Cost-Sharing Negotiations

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] On the 2nd, Sankei Shimbun reported that the Japanese government has decided to reject a significant increase demand in negotiations with the United States over the cost burden of U.S. forces stationed in Japan.

According to the report, the Japanese government is formulating its negotiation strategy based on whether President Donald Trump wins re-election in the upcoming U.S. presidential election this November. Under a special agreement with the U.S., Japan separately bears the wages of base personnel and utility costs that the U.S. should cover under the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement, apart from the costs related to the realignment of U.S. military bases. The budget related to this for this year is 197.4 billion yen (approximately 2.17 trillion KRW).

The special agreement is renewed every five years. President Trump has insisted that Japan should bear more costs ahead of the renewal of the special agreement, which expires in March next year. Although the Trump administration has never specified an exact amount, the U.S. foreign affairs media Foreign Policy reported last November that the demand would be more than four times the current amount, at 8 billion dollars (approximately 9.5 trillion KRW).

The Japanese government has decided that if President Trump loses the election, the cost burden for U.S. forces stationed in Japan will be maintained at the current level. If President Trump is re-elected, Japan will reject a significant increase demand but will pursue a comprehensive adjustment of U.S. military-related costs by offsetting the increase with costs reflecting the participation of Japan Self-Defense Forces in U.S. military protection operations.

Sankei reported that the Japanese government began reviewing countermeasures earlier this year, referring to the case of South Korea, which faced about a fivefold increase demand from the U.S. It added that from this summer, Japan plans to start working-level negotiations with the U.S. for the renewal of the special agreement, aiming to reach an agreement by December, when the budget for fiscal year 2021 is formulated.

The Japanese government plans to reject a large increase demand and pursue an agreement at the current level as much as possible, citing that Japan’s share of the cost burden for U.S. forces stationed in the country is over 70%, higher than that of South Korea or Germany. Also, if the U.S. demands additional burdens by citing separate items such as operational costs as in negotiations with South Korea, Japan has prepared a negotiation strategy to reduce the burden by reflecting cases of Self-Defense Forces supporting the U.S. military.

However, Sankei reported that since President Trump, who places importance on the amount, may oppose if the budget under the special agreement is kept at the current level, the Japanese government is also considering increasing costs related to U.S. military realignment or purchases of U.S.-made defense products.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.