Washington Examiner:
That reliance is only more reason it should reimburse the U.S., argues Riki Ellison of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance.
“Japan invests today 0.85% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), way below 2% for its defense, and pays an addition of around $2.5 billion a year to the United States for U.S. Forces in Japan,” says Ellison.
“The cost to the United States for its forces in Japan annually is around $12 to $13 billion a year, a significant shortfall that U.S. taxpayers pay for and continue to pay for. Similar to Germany, they both have booming economies and are top ten economies of the world that represent a tremendous success of U.S. policy of World War II reconstruction of two nations that were completely destroyed and are now leaders of Western capitalism and great examples of Western democracies,” he says. “Japan and Germany must contribute more to their defenses and be more integrated with the United States.”
