Support for more foreign workers in Japan drops below 60%
The public opinion poll also found that more than one-third of people oppose the idea of expanding the number of foreign workers.
Washington - Japan and the United States initiated working-level discussions on Japan's support for U.S. forces stationed in the country, according to sources familiar with the matter reported on Wednesday. The U.S. government conveyed during initial talks its intention to seek an increase in Japan's host nation support, sources well-versed in bilateral relations revealed.
A delegation from the U.S., headed by Heide Fulton, a senior negotiator at the State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, embarked on a trip to Tokyo last week to engage in discussions with officials from Japan's Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry, including Mondo Yamamoto, deputy director-general of the North American Affairs Bureau at the Foreign Ministry, as reported by State Department officials.
Prior to the meeting, the two nations had preliminary talks on July 9, the officials disclosed. U.S. officials suspect that Japan intends to cap the growth in host nation support by advertising a plan to augment its defense spending, according to sources familiar with the situation. During the preliminary negotiations, U.S. officials urged Japan to contribute more to enhance the security of U.S. bases in Japan, upgrade facilities, and accommodate Japanese personnel, the sources explained.
It is believed that former U.S. President Donald Trump had initially pushed for Japan to quadruple its host nation support during his initial tenure. Japan is apprehensive about the prospect of the U.S. requesting a substantial increase again and intends to present a proposal highlighting the improvement of protection for U.S. forces' facilities in Japan.
The total host nation support from Japan amounts to ¥1.05 trillion over the five-year period concluding in March 2027. The two countries plan to determine the specific amount Japan will allocate over the ensuing five years. The two sides intend to commence formal negotiations by autumn in order to reach an agreement by the end of this year, as stated by a Japanese government official.
Written by urgent.news from Japan Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 2 other outlets
- Japan and U.S. begin working-level talks on host nation support japantimes.co.jp
- Mitsubishi Heavy wins Japan's support for next-generation nuclear reactor development channelnewsasia.com
