U.S.-Japan base-support pact focuses on utility costs

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U.S.-Japan base-support pact focuses on utility costs
By Vince Little and Hana Kusumoto, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Friday, December 14, 2007

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — The United States and Japan on Wednesday struck a deal to renew of the Special Measures Agreement, a cost-sharing arrangement that covers labor and operational expenses on U.S. military bases.

The new three-year pact goes into effect April 1.

Faced with a mounting national debt, Tokyo wanted to dramatically reduce host-nation support for U.S. bases, particularly its hefty contribution toward utility costs.

“We believe that an appropriate revision was made,” said Masaki Takaoka, an official with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Japan-U.S. Security Treaty Division.

He denied Japanese media reports that claimed the recent suspension of Japanese refueling operations in the Indian Ocean affected negotiations.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=50952