Japan Starts To Complain At The Bill For Hosting US Troops In Their Country

Japan Balks At $2 Billion Bill To Host US Troops -- Washington Post/AP

GINOWAN, Japan -- In a country where land is a precious commodity, many U.S. bases in Japan boast golf courses, football fields and giant shopping malls whose food courts offer everything from Taco Bell to Subway and Starbucks.

They are the most visible point of grievance in a sharpening debate about the cost to Japan of supporting the 47,000 American service members here - about $2 billion a year. That's nearly a third of the total, and about three times what Germany pays to host U.S. forces on its soil.

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My Comment: For 65 years the US presence in Japan has been successful and instrumental in providing safety and security to the Japanese people. They may balk at the cost for paying this bill, but if they were to do it themselves the cost would probably be greater.

In the next few decades, most if not all US personnel will probably be gone form Japan anyway. One can argue that these protests from Japan is just a means for them to lay the groundwork for the eventual departure of the U.S..