TOKYO (Reuters) -The Trump administration asked Japan in early May to increase its share of costs for U.S. troops stationed there, prompting Tokyo to consider boosting facility funding by tens of billions of yen, the Asahi Shimbun reported on Thursday, citing government sources.
The current annual average cost borne by Japan for the stationing of U.S. forces is about 211 billion yen ($1.45 billion).
The Japanese government has started considering an increase in the budget for the construction of facilities provided to U.S. forces stationed in Japan, such as barracks, family housing, administrative buildings and disaster prevention facilities, the Asahi report said.
Asked about the report after meeting with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Japan’s tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said national security and tariff policies are different matters.
However, Akazawa said the purchase of defence equipment would contribute to the U.S. trade surplus, so “in that context, (the subject) could be considered to some extent” in the tariff talks.
Akazawa is scheduled to visit the U.S. on Thursday for another round of tariff negotiations.
($1 = 145.3300 yen)
(Reporting by Mariko Katsumura, Satoshi Sugiyama and Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
