The Japanese government expects to begin negotiations with the United States regarding Japan's share of costs for the U.S. military stationed in Japan after the House of Councilors election in September, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported on the 4th.
Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense anticipate entering negotiations on the share of costs for the U.S. military stationed in Japan during the foreign and defense ministers' (2+2) meeting, also expected to occur after September.
The share of costs for the U.S. military stationed in Japan, referred to as a "consideration budget" by Japan, is set by a special agreement negotiated every five years. The current burden amount for Japan under the agreement applicable from 2022 to 2026 is a total of 1.1 trillion yen (approximately 10.476 trillion won), averaging about 211 billion yen per year.
In this regard, Nikkei noted that President Donald Trump has expressed dissatisfaction with Japan's level of defense spending, but security has not been on the agenda in the U.S.-Japan tariff negotiations, and defense officials did not accompany their ministers during the ministerial talks.
However, contrary to the Japanese government's views, it is uncertain whether security can be completely separated from the tariff negotiations. John Phelan, Secretary of the U.S. Navy, added that he is urging Japanese corporations to invest in U.S. shipbuilding.
Nikkei explained that, "When negotiating the current agreement, Japan had previously increased the share of costs by adding the expense for procuring equipment used in U.S.-Japan joint training to the share. This time, a proposal is emerging to include maintenance costs for U.S. vessels in Japan as part of the share of costs."