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Omoiyari Yosan (思いやり予算, lit. sympathy budget), is a popular term for funds provided by Japan as host nation support for the U.S. forces stationed in Japan. The official term is Cost Sharing for the US Forces Stationed in Japan (在日米軍駐留経費負担, Zainichi Beigun Churyu Keihi Futan). Although the term technically only covers the portion of financial support not mandated under the 1960 U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), it is popularly used to refer to Japanese support as a whole.
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The term originates from comments made in 1978 by the then Director-General of the Japan Defense Agency, Shin Kanemaru, in defense of the Japanese government's decision to share financial responsibilities for the American bases in Japan. When questioned about the expenditure, Kanemaru replied that they were provided out of "sympathy".
Background
Under the 1960 SOFA agreement, the support Japan was required to provide for US Forces Japan (USFJ) was limited to the provision of "facilities and areas" for use:
However, with the rising of the yen against the dollar increasing the cost of maintaining forces in Japan and Japan's rapid economic growth increasing the ability of the Japanese to contribute, the United States began to pressure Japan in the mid-1970s to increase its financial support.
Origins of the Term
The Japanese government first agreed to provide additional support in 1978 by assuming responsibility for the welfare payments of Japanese nationals employed by the USFJ. When questioned in the Diet about the new appropriation in June, Kanemaru made a series of statements in which he repeatedly used the word "omoiyari," which means sympathy or consideration:
Because of the continual use of the term, both by Kanemaru and those questioning him, these additional expenditures became known as the "sympathy budget."
The circumstances that led to the initial establishment of the budget have since ceased, but the budget itself has continued. The current Japanese government explains the rationale for the sympathy budget in this way: "As a measure to ensure the smooth operation of US forces stationed in Japan, and taking due consideration of the financial situation, our nation voluntarily bears part of the operating costs for those troops."
Expansion of the Budget and Current Status
The additional support provided by the Japanese government has rapidly expanded since 1978. Although initially handled on an ad hoc basis, since 1987 the US and Japanese governments have signed a series of Special Measures Agreements (SMA) formally establishing the Japanese commitment of support. The most recent SMA, covering the five-year period from 2011–2015, was signed in January 2011. The agreements cover the categories of expenses that will be paid for by the Japanese government rather than specify specific monetary amounts.
The most significant expansions in Japanese support have been:
These expanded costs have become Japan's most significant contribution to the US-Japan security alliance. In 2002 Japan's contributions represented more than 60% of all allied financial contributions to the US and covered 75% of USFJ's operating costs.
The appropriation amount steadily increased from 1978 to 2001, but has since declined due to pressures placed on the Japanese government (see Opposition below). The 2012 Japanese defense budget allocated ¥186.7 billion for cost sharing (¥144.4 billion of which are SMA-related payments.) This represents a 0.5% increase from the previous year and a 10.4% decrease from 5 years earlier.
Opposition
With the downturn in Japan's economic fortunes and the ending of the Cold War, criticism by opposition parties and the public have increased. In 1998 former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa proposed ending the budget in 2000 when the then-current SMA expired due to Japan's "severe financial crisis."
When the 2008 SMA came to a vote in the Japanese Diet, it was opposed by the opposition Communists, Democrats (DPJ), and Social Democrats, leading to its failure to pass the House of Councillors. Although the House of Representatives later overrode the decision, the opposition managed to create a one-month gap between the prior Agreement's expiration and the new one's passage, the first gap since the support was established in 1978. In explaining their opposition, the Democrats stated that the Japanese government needed to "negotiate from the viewpoint of the Japanese people," while criticizing the government for destabilizing the lives of the bases' Japanese workforce.
Shortly after becoming Prime Minister of the first non-LDP government since 1996, Yukio Hatoyama promised a "comprehensive review" of the sympathy budget. The 2011 SMA was presented with few changes by his DPJ successor, however, and passed with LDP support.