Japan to Pay More of U.S. Forces’ Cost
Japan and the United States exchanged notes Wednesday formalizing an agreement for the Japanese to pay a bigger share of the cost of stationing U.S. military forces in Japan, the Foreign Ministry said.
Under the agreement, which was approved by Parliament, Japan’s share will increase from the current 40% of the costs to 50% over five years.
The additional money will pay most of the basic wages, overtime pay and benefits of the 22,000 Japanese workers at U.S. military bases in Japan. It also will help pay for utilities such as electricity and heating fuel used by the 50,000 American servicemen and women stationed in Japan.
The Foreign Ministry said the additional spending would be about $75.8 million in the fiscal year that began April 1. With that and other additions, Japan is to pay $3.53 billion for the U.S. troops here in fiscal 1991, compared to $3.26 billion in fiscal 1990.
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