Ruling parties railroad through ‘sympathy budget’ for U.S. military

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Ruling parties railroad through ‘sympathy budget’ for U.S. military

The ruling Liberal Democratic and Komei parties on April 3 used their majority in the House of Representatives to railroad through the bill to extend the Japan-U.S. special agreement to continue Japan’s payment of the so-called “sympathy budget” for the stationing of U.S. forces in Japan for another three years.

Opposition parties, including the Japanese Communist, Democratic, and Social Democratic parties, voted against.

Japan’s payment under the name of the “sympathy budget” began in 1978, and expanded year by year, but the government could not give convincing explanations as to how it can be justified by the Japan-U.S. agreement on the status of U.S. forces in Japan (SOFA) that already gives U.S. forces in Japan various privileges.

In 1987, Japan concluded a special measures agreement with the United States to “justify” increasing its “host nation support” for U.S. forces in Japan. At the time, the government said that Japan was taking “a temporary, limited, and extraordinary” budgetary measures. The latest is the fifth renewal of the extraordinary agreement.

At the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee meeting on April 2, JCP representative Kasai Akira demanded an end to the “sympathy budget,” which obliges Japan to expend more than 200 billion yen (about 2 billion dollars) each year without legal grounds. He said crimes by U.S. servicemen in Japan continue simply because of the existence of U.S. military bases.

Pointing out that the “sympathy budget” began with a promise that it will be a temporary measure, Kasai criticized the government for trying to continue it indefinitely.

Foreign Minister Komura Masahiko said that “(it can end) only when the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty will become unnecessary.” Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo supported Komura’s statement.

Kasai maintained, “The government is just trying to perpetuate the agreement.”

Realignment of U.S. forces in Japan

Citing former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s promise to “make the total amount of Japanese payment for the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan public as early as possible,” Kasai demanded that government make it public.

Fukuda avoided promising to do on the grounds that “the matter is being considered by the two countries.”

“Japan must abolish the ‘sympathy budget’ system because it will oblige Japan to pay for the U.S. military realignment costs indefinitely,” Kasai added.

Costs for U.S. Marine relocation to Guam

Kasai also raised questions about Japan’s payment totaling 700 billion yen (about 7 billion dollars) for the planned relocation of part of the U.S. Marines stationed in Okinawa to Guam.

He revealed the Japanese plan to pay the costs for the infrastructure of off-base construction projects, such as a power stations and water sewerage facilities to be used by both U.S. forces and nearby residents.

Under the 2006 Japan-U.S. agreement on the realignment of U.S. bases in Japan, Japan is to pay 6.09 billion dollars -about 60 percent of the total cost for the construction of a U.S. Marine Corps base - that includes 740 million dollars for the infrastructure for the base in Guam.

Takamizawa Nobushige, the Defense Ministry's defense policy bureau director general, said that Japan’s payment for the infrastructure for constructing off-base facilities is not precluded.

Takamizawa’s remark contradicts the previous government explanation that Japan will pay only for facilities within the base.

Kasai said, “In Okinawa, the penetration rate of water and sewage services is 63.3 percent, much lower than the national average of 82.4 percent. The Japanese government is trying to provide benefits for Guam residents while ignoring the needs of Okinawans. Japan must stop its overly generous treatment of U.S. forces right now.”

- Akahata, April 3, 2008