US asks Japan to nearly triple troop hosting payments

The United States has asked Japan to pay more than 3 trillion yen ($18.8bn) over five years toward the cost of stationing American troops in the country, close to three times the present level, according to reports by Nikkei Asia, the South China Morning Post and Anadolu Agency.

The request concerns the next host-nation support package, which the South China Morning Post said would begin in Japan's 2027 financial year, starting in April 2027. Anadolu reported that the two governments are working to reach an agreement by the end of this year.

All three outlets based their accounts on sources familiar with the talks. Neither the US administration nor the Japanese government has published a figure. Nikkei Asia put the US request at more than 3 trillion yen, or $18.8bn. The South China Morning Post gave the same yen figure, converted it to about $19bn, and said the demand came from the administration of President Donald Trump.

Tokyo has not accepted it. The South China Morning Post reported that Japan is considering a substantial increase, to roughly 1.5 trillion yen. Anadolu described the Japanese position as a counteroffer of about $9.5bn over five years.

On the reported numbers, the two positions are about 1.5 trillion yen apart across the five-year period.

Host-nation support is the money Japan contributes toward the cost of the US military presence in the country under the two countries' security alliance. The reports did not set out in detail what the new package would pay for beyond the total.

The negotiations take place as Japan, which hosts the bulk of American forces in East Asia, faces repeated pressure from Washington to carry more of the cost of its own defence. The current agreement runs to the 2026 financial year, and the new one would cover the five years after that.

A figure above 3 trillion yen would be the largest host-nation support package Japan has agreed. The last such deal, struck in 2021, covered five years at roughly 1.05 trillion yen, according to Japanese officials who briefed on it at the time. Asked about the reported US demand, neither the Japanese foreign ministry nor the US embassy in Tokyo has issued a public statement.