Japan Press Weekly

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2008 July 23 - 29 [US FORCES]

Arrogant U.S. demand on Japan to shoulder its war costs

Akahata editorial

Senior U.S. high government officials are making an overt demand that Japan spend more tax money for the military.

Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan in Tokyo on May 20, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, J. Thomas Schieffer stated, “Japan should consider the benefits of increasing its own defense spending ... in order to support their security needs in the future.”

At a congressional hearing on June 12, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Alexander A. Arvizu, stated, “[W]e intend very soon to engage in some serious discussions with the Japanese about a comprehensive re-look at host nation support, as well as overall defense spending.”

Apparently, these U.S. officials are pressuring Japan to pay more “defense” costs in order to help the United States reduce its burden of war, in which the war budget is snowballing as it continues wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Overt pressure

U.S. “defense” expenditure reached 481 billion dollars in FY 2007, almost twice the amount in FY 1998. This figure does not include 142 billion yen earmarked for prosecuting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The steep increase in the U.S. “defense” expenditure is due to the U.S. policy of reinforcing its military, including nuclear forces, to display its global influence and to further its lawless wars.

It is clear that the U.S. Bush administration is to blame for this. The U.S. is making a wrongheaded demand when it urges Japan to pay more.

U.S. Ambassador Schieffer was quibbling with Japan when advocating, “[I]t is troubling to note that the ratio of defense spending to gross domestic product has been steadily shrinking. This year that number will be less than 1%, 0.89% to be precise, a ratio lower than any NATO or developed country in the OECD.”

This is a flagrant interference in the internal affairs of Japan. Indeed, Japan’s ratio of the military budget to GDP has seen a slight decline, but Japan’s military expenditure still ranks 5th.

The government has made a slight cut in its military budget in order to make it easier to carry out smooth and drastic cuts in the expenditures related to social services and education. It is also true that the government has been unable to disregard public criticism of the government policy of saving the military budget from cuts. It is unjustifiable to demand that Japan spend more on the military by pointing out that the ratio of military expenditure to GDP has declined.

In his statement, Arvizu complained about the 9 billion yen cutback in Japan’s 200-billion-yen “sympathy budget” and said that the United States will hold talks with Japan aimed at a comprehensive review of the Japanese military budget, including the “sympathy budget.”

The “sympathy budget” should be totally abolished because under the Japan-U.S. Status of U.S. Forces Agreement, the United States is obligated to pay those costs that are currently paid under the “sympathy budget.” The United States is not in a position to complain about its cutbacks.

The U.S. government wants Japan to get involved more deeply in the U.S. preemptive attack strategy and to increase its financial contributions to paying U.S. war costs. The U.S. government is not just trying to ensure Japan’s support that includes the Air Self-Defense Force airlifting mission in Iraq and the Maritime Self-Defense Force refueling mission in the Indian Ocean to assist in the war in Afghanistan. It is also pressing Japan to participate in so-called “sea lane defense” across the Indian Ocean and even demanding that Japan purchase more U.S. weapons and military equipment.

We must stop such high-handed U.S. demands that ignore Japanese sovereignty.

We demand a drastic cut in military expenditure

After talks with President George W. Bush, which took place just before the G8 Toyako Summit, Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo emphasized that the Japan-U.S. alliance “has deepened greatly” and that it should be further strengthened.

The Japanese Constitution renounces war and prohibits Japan from having armaments. It is unconstitutional to revise the law to allow the Maritime Self-Defense Force to continue its refueling operation in the Indian Ocean as the current law will expire in January 2009 and to continue the Air Self-Defense Force’s airlifting mission in Iraq.

The Japanese government must reject the U.S. government demand for an increase in the Japanese military budget based on the Japan-U.S. military alliance. We demand that the government stop continuing to increase military expenditure considering it as exempt from budget cuts. - Akahata, July 23, 2008