Japan, U.S. to keep Tokyo's base-hosting spending at current level+

TOKYO, Dec. 14 Kyodo -
Japan and the United States have agreed to maintain Tokyo's annual spending on
the hosting of U.S. bases at the current level of 188.1 billion yen for a
five-year period from fiscal 2011, Japanese officials said Tuesday.
The accord, which replaces an existing pact that will expire in March next
year, came as a compromise between Japan, which was seeking a drastic cut due
to its strained fiscal conditions, and the United States, which wanted an
increase, in view of China's growing military might and continued tension on
the Korean Peninsula.
With the issue of Tokyo's base-hosting spending settled, eyes are now on how
the government and the ruling Democratic Party of Japan will pursue a plan to
allocate expenditures in the fiscal 2011 budget for relocating a key U.S.
Marine base within Okinawa Prefecture.
''The accord is a message from both Japan and the United States to make their
alliance more stable for the peace and stability of the whole of East Asia,''
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku told a press conference.
''The (Japanese) government believes that it made an appropriate agreement,
fully recognizing the role that U.S. forces stationed in Japan play, while
trying to gain the support of the public,'' he said.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan and U.S. President Barack Obama had agreed in their
summit talks in Yokohama last month that the two countries will seek to make
Japan's host-nation support more stable and effective.
Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said at a separate news conference that he
believed the agreed level of Tokyo's financial support was ''reasonable'' in
the current circumstances.
Japan began providing host-nation support in fiscal 1978. The total amount
peaked in fiscal 1999 at 275.6 billion yen, but it has since been cut sharply
due to Tokyo's fiscal woes and public criticism particularly about spending
Japanese taxpayers' money on entertainment facilities for the U.S. military
personnel.
Under the accord, the number of Japanese working for the U.S. military, whose
salaries are covered by the Japanese government, will be cut by 430 in phases
from the current level of 23,055, as those serving at entertainment facilities
such as golf courses and bars will be excluded, the officials said.
The pact also says the proportion of utility costs at U.S. military facilities
covered by the Japanese government will be gradually lowered from 76 percent at
present to 72 percent over the five-year period. The maximum annual utility
costs covered by Tokyo will be 24.9 billion yen.
The amount slashed through these measures will be spent to improve U.S.
military facilities, such as housing complexes for U.S. military personnel and
their dependants as well as equipment for sewage treatment and dredging, with
Tokyo securing annual spending of more than 20.6 billion yen, according to the
officials.
Part of those expenditures will cover efforts to introduce environment-friendly
technology in residences for U.S. military personnel under the ''Green
Alliance'' initiative, by mainly installing solar panels, walls and roofs with
high heat insulation capacity and energy-saving air conditioners and lighting.
The officials said that after the accord is finalized between the two
countries, Tokyo will submit a bill to the ordinary Diet session, which will
convene next January, for parliament to endorse the planned spending.
The officials added that the overall amount of host-nation support may slightly
decline over the five years with the levels of salaries for Japanese workers at
U.S. bases expected to be trimmed in line with those of civil servants.
On the issue of allocating funds for relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma
Air Station in the fiscal 2011 budget, the government and the ruling DPJ were
at odds with the DPJ's coalition partner, the People's New Party, as well as
the opposition Social Democratic Party.
For the DPJ, securing the help of both the tiny parties is vial for passing
budget-related bills in next year's Diet session given its status as a minority
in the House of Councillors, while dominating the House of Representatives.
The SDP, together with the people in Okinawa, are fiercely opposed to the
accord reached in May between Washington and Tokyo to relocate Futenma within
Okinawa.
==Kyodo
2010-12-14 23:35:12


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