The United States has demanded that Japan triple its spending on hosting American troops to more than 3 trillion yen — about $19 billion — over the five years starting in fiscal 2027, sources familiar with the cost-sharing negotiations told Kyodo News on Thursday, November 12. Yaani: Washington is asking Tokyo to go from roughly ¥211 billion a year to more than ¥600 billion a year for the US military presence on Japanese soil.

Source: Kyodo News via EuropeSays, Nov 13, 2026

Japan is considering a substantially smaller increase — roughly 1.5 trillion yen over the five years, or more than 300 billion yen (about $1.9 billion) a year — the sources said. One diplomatic source quoted by Kyodo put the gap plainly: “While 3 trillion yen over five years would be difficult to accept, there is a possibility to pay around 1.5 trillion yen.” Neither government has announced the figures publicly, and the demand is reported from negotiating sources, not from an official statement.

What the money pays for

Under the current Special Measures Agreement, Japan's host-nation support — long nicknamed the “sympathy budget” — covers costs including wages for Japanese workers at US bases, utilities, and the relocation of military training away from populated areas. Total outlays were set at 1.06 trillion yen for fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2026, about 211 billion yen a year. The largest five-year total on record was 1.35 trillion yen, in fiscal 1996 to 2000.

The new package is expected to go beyond running costs. Kyodo reported the upcoming support could include spending to strengthen the resilience and survivability of US military facilities in Japan in the event of an attack — hardened or underground structures — alongside higher labour costs for Japanese base workers and projects under the Facilities Improvement Program, including US military housing.

Why Washington is asking for more

President Donald Trump has argued for years that Japan and other allies should pay more toward the cost of American forces stationed abroad, and the demand lands as Tokyo is already expanding its own defence spending under US pressure. Bilateral cost-sharing talks moved into full gear in Tokyo this summer, and the current agreement — the legal basis runs through the bilateral Status of Forces Agreement — expires on March 31, 2027, ahead of the proposed fiscal 2027 start.

For Japan's government, even the lower ¥1.5 trillion figure would be the largest host-nation package in decades, and it must be weighed against record defence budgets at home. For Washington, the negotiation is an early test of how far its alliance burden-sharing demands will go in Asia — a region where the US military footprint in Japan underpins its posture toward China and North Korea.