2009 November 18 - 24 [
US FORCES]
Area of U.S. military bases in Japan has doubled since 1980
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November 19, 2009
Japanese Communist Party representative Kasai Akira on November 18 at a House of Representatives Committee meeting on Foreign Affairs revealed that land areas occupied by U.S. military bases in Japan have doubled in size since 1980 in contrast with a sharp decline in overseas troop levels of U.S. forces.
“The area of U.S. bases in Japan has more than doubled rather than being reduced, which is equivalent to 160 percent of the area of Tokyo’s 23 wards,” said Kasai.
The total land area used for the U.S. bases in Japan was 484 sq km in 1980 and is about 1,270 sq km as of January 1 this year, and the number of U.S. military facilities in Japan has also increased to 134 from 120.
In contrast, the United States cut the number of its troop levels abroad from 609,000 in 1990 to 285,000 in January this year. The number of U.S. troops deployed in Europe has decreased to 79,000 from 310,000.
Pointing out that 33,428 U.S. troops are still stationed in Japan, Kasai stated, “You cannot find any other U.S. ally in the world that so generously hosts such a large number of foreign military personnel.”
Kasai demanded that Japan break away from the Japan-U.S. military alliance. Foreign Minister Okada Katsuya responded by stating, “I’m committed to making the Japan-U.S. alliance sustainable for at least the next 30-50 years.”
- Akahata, November 20, 2009
ECONOMY
Corporate internal reserves doubled in 10 years
In the last 10 years, companies’ internal reserves have doubled and reached 428.6 trillion yen, a labor think tank found in its research.
The research result was included in an urgent proposal for breaking through the economic crisis published on November 18 by the Japan Research of Labor Movement (Rodo-soken). The proposal stresses the need to release corporate internal funds that were reserved with the sacrifice of workers and small- and medium-sized firms in order to strengthen domestic demand.
Corporate internal reserves have rapidly increased since 1999, when the restrictions on the use of temporary workers were removed. In FY2008, internal reserves increased by 218.7 trillion yen from 209.9 trillion yen in FY 1999. 69.3 percent of 218.7 trillion yen were reserved by companies with more than 100 million yen in capital.
If using just 2.7 percent of the increase of 218.7 trillion yen, the minimum hourly wage can be raised to 1,000 yen. With 3.5 percent, all non-regular workers can be given a regular position. These measures will help to expand domestic demand.
Rodo-soken co-president Makino Tomio pointed out that the enormous amount of corporate internal reserves have weakened domestic demand and helped cause Japan’s economic crisis, which is more severe than in other countries. He stressed that the corporate funds must immediately be returned to the workers and the society.
- Akahata, November 19, 2009
