China News Service, February 3rd. According to Kyodo News, Japanese government sources revealed on the 3rd that the governments of Japan and the United States will hold a video conference in the form of a video conference late on the 2nd on the financial burden of the US military stationed in Japan after 2021 Work consultations restarted the negotiations.
This is the first formal negotiation between the two parties after the Biden administration took office in January.
According to the report, the Japanese side has tentatively extended its funding requirements for one year at the current level.
Japan and the United States agreed to speed up negotiations to reach an agreement at an early date.
The 2016-2020 special agreement, which is the basis for Japanese expenditures, will expire at the end of March 2021.
A relevant person from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized: “Japan is already preparing a budget. The special agreement needs to be approved by the National Assembly, so we strive to negotiate as soon as possible.” The Japanese side deliberately repeated consultations without interruption to reach an agreement.
According to reports, relevant work consultations will begin in November 2020.
As the U.S. election unfolded, the United States and Japan postponed consultations.
The content of the tentative extension plan is that the Japanese side will maintain the current 200 billion yen in 2021 and will be negotiated after 2022.
The two sides also intend to discuss the strengthening of the Japan-US alliance and cooperation in new areas such as space and networks.
According to reports, at a telephone meeting between the Japanese and US foreign ministers on January 27, 2021, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi proposed to the US Secretary of State Brinken a tentative extension.
In addition, the Japanese side also conveyed the same ideas through informal consultations at the affairs level, and the US side agreed.