Japan Press Weekly

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2012 June 27 - July 3 [US FORCES]

US forces use Japan’s tax money for expeditionary drills

A fact came to light that the U.S. forces carried out expeditionary drills using Japanese taxpayers’ money.

The U.S. Marine Corps in Iwakuni Air Station, Yamaguchi Prefecture, held emergency takeoff and landing drills from May 14 to June 8 on Tinian Island in the Marianas, under the pretext of “relocation of training”.

“Relocation of training” is conducting such drills outside Japan under the guise of alleviating the noise of the U.S. bases in Japan. The Japanese government is expected to share three-fourths of the “relocation” costs.

According to local papers, a commander of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force said that the aim of the drills is to carry out the joint expeditionary operations in the South Pacific Ocean.

The Japanese national budget for the current fiscal year for the U.S. military realignment including “relocation of training” has risen to 4 billion yen, 5 times as much as that for the last year.

Japan Peace Committee researcher Uehara Hisashi said, “It is abnormal to spend taxpayers’ money on the expeditionary operation drills of the U.S. Marine Corps which plays no role in defending Japan. We cannot allow the government to provide the U.S. forces with such a huge amount of money while forcing a consumption tax hike on the general public.”