May 28, 2025
The total assessed value of U.S. military bases in Japan (excluding land value) is approximately 27.6 trillion yen (1 USD = 143 JPY), more than three times that of Germany and South Korea, according to the recently-released U.S. Department of Defense data.
The DoD annual Base Structure Reports show that six of the ten most expensive bases worldwide are located in Japan, and that the U.S. military had 549 bases overseas, as of the end of September 2024, with 98 of them in Japan.
The Japanese government has been building and renovating facilities for the U.S. Forces Japan with the so-called “sympathy budget” as well as with U.S. military realignment expenses, which is unprecedented in the world. This inevitably raises the assessed value of U.S. military bases in Japan.
Another Pentagon report shows that as of the end of 2024, 52,603 of the 172,014 U.S. troops stationed overseas were in Japan, accounting for 30.6% of the total, followed by Germany and South Korea.
Japan has been forced to bear a U.S. military base burden that is the heaviest in the world, but Japan’s LDP government continues to be subservient to the United States. The U.S. administration now led by President Trump is demanding a further increase in Japan’s military spending and sympathy budget.
The DoD annual Base Structure Reports show that six of the ten most expensive bases worldwide are located in Japan, and that the U.S. military had 549 bases overseas, as of the end of September 2024, with 98 of them in Japan.
The Japanese government has been building and renovating facilities for the U.S. Forces Japan with the so-called “sympathy budget” as well as with U.S. military realignment expenses, which is unprecedented in the world. This inevitably raises the assessed value of U.S. military bases in Japan.
Another Pentagon report shows that as of the end of 2024, 52,603 of the 172,014 U.S. troops stationed overseas were in Japan, accounting for 30.6% of the total, followed by Germany and South Korea.
Japan has been forced to bear a U.S. military base burden that is the heaviest in the world, but Japan’s LDP government continues to be subservient to the United States. The U.S. administration now led by President Trump is demanding a further increase in Japan’s military spending and sympathy budget.
