2 trillion yen of Japanese tax money used to upgrade U.S. military facilities in Japan

Japan Press Weekly

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

2 trillion yen of Japanese tax money used to upgrade U.S. military facilities in Japan

Even though Japan has no obligation to do so under the Japan-U.S. Status of U.S. Forces Agreement (SOFA), the Japanese government has paid more than 210 billion yen from the so-called 'sympathy budget' to the Japanese Facilities Improvement Program (JFIP), a plan to construct or improve U.S. military facilities in Japan.

These extra amounts of payments came to light in Defense Ministry documents as well as in budget-related documents provided upon request to the Japanese Communist Party by the Defense Ministry.

Since FY 1978, five trillion yen has been paid to the U.S. under the 'sympathy budget'. With the JFIP that started in FY 1979, a total of 12,872 facilities were built or repaired at 66 U.S. military bases in Japan. Originally, the SOFA requires Japan to pay only rents and other costs needed in and around U.S. base sites because the U.S. forces in Japan are allowed to use facilities and areas in Japan free of charge under the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.

Nearly 90 percent of the total JFIP-related payment by Japan was used to construct 11,363 housings and 230 barracks. The average cost of building a housing unit reached 48 million yen, much higher than the average cost for similar housing units for Japanese, which is between 10 million yen and 20 million yen.

Japan pays the costs for schools, amusement centers, hospitals, athletic fields, repair facilities for warships and aircraft, airfields for fighters and blast-proof shelters, runways, and a berth for mooring a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

While the annual amount of JFIP-related payment, essential part of the 'sympathy budget' system, has declined slightly recently, the Japanese government began further assisting USFJ through diversified measures by paying a total of 10.9 billion yen to construct a facility exclusively for Okinawa-based USMC units involved in training exercises with howitzers at the Ground Self-Defense Force Yausubetsu Exercises Field in Hokkaido.

Also, Japan is paying the cost for the realignment and reconsolidation of USFJ, which amounts to 2 or 3 trillion yen in total, including the cost for the construction of major facilities on Guam for USMC units 'relocating' from Okinawa. The government allotted 34.6 billion yen as Guam-related budgets for FY2009.

In April 2008, the House of Councilors rejected a bill on a special Japan-U.S. agreement on the "sympathy budget", which heightened the sense of crisis in both governments.

Being anxious about possibility of the USFJ leaving Japan, the Japanese government is throwing much money at them to enrich their facilities so that they will happily remain in Japan.

According to the 2007 DoD military "Base Structure Report," U.S. bases in Japan are the top three military facilities overseas in terms of their asset quality.

As regards training facilities, repair functions for warships and aircraft, and the quality of life for military service members, U.S. bases in Japan have been ranked at the highest level among any U.S. military bases outside of the U.S.A. This is only possible because the Japanese government has been throwing a considerable amount of tax money to increase their quality of life at the cost of decreasing the quality of life for many Japanese.

No U.S. ally other than Japan pays for most of the costs that the U.S. should pay for its military bases on their soil.

On June 23, 2010, Japan will mark the 50th anniversary of the revision of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty. Democratic forces are called upon to inform the public about the reality of the "sympathy budget" and the generous use of Japan's tax money for a foreign military, so that the decades-long subjugation to the U.S. will finally end.

- Akahata, June 23, 2009