Realignment to cost Japan 15 billion$

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The Yomiuri Shimbun
The Defense Agency has estimated the government's total cost of the realignment of U.S. military forces stationed in Japan at about 1.86 trillion yen, including the cost of relocating U.S. marines to Guam, lower than the U.S. government's initial estimate of 3 trillion yen, government sources said Saturday.
Japan's share for relocating U.S. marines in Okinawa Prefecture to Guam was estimated at 6.09 billion dollars (about 676 billion yen at an exchange rate set in the fiscal 2006 budget). Excluding that amount, the cost to be domestically spent will total about 1.19 trillion yen, the agency estimated.
Last spring, when the final report on the realignment plan was drafted, some U.S. government officials predicted Japan would need to shoulder about 3 trillion yen of the costs.
But the amount will likely be lowered by more than 1 trillion yen, after the agency closely examined costs related to the Self-Defense Forces and new economic stimulus measures for municipalities near bases in Okinawa Prefecture.
The agency had estimated the domestic cost at 1.55 trillion yen in March, but did not disclose the figure because it was a rough estimate before the release of the final report.
Takemasa Moriya, administrative vice minister of the agency, presented a prediction in April that the cost for the government would be 2 trillion yen in the eight-year period starting the next fiscal year.
The new estimate was calculated by accumulating costs for construction of new facilities, improving vacated land, economic stimulus measures for municipalities in the prefecture and other necessary work during the realignment from fiscal 2007 to fiscal 2014.
According to the new estimate, the total domestic cost for construction of new facilities will likely be about 900 billion yen.
For the relocation of functions of U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, to coastal areas of Camp Schwab in Nago, also in the prefecture, the agency estimated the cost at 401.5 billion yen.
Of the amount, about 340 billion yen is for construction work and the remaining amount will be used for improving vacated land.
For the consolidation of military bases in central and southern parts of the prefecture, the agency estimated the cost at 471.4 billion yen. Of the amount, about 220 billion yen would be for the relocation of functions of Naha Military Port to Urasoe in the prefecture.
Of domestic costs, more than 70 percent are for the realignment of U.S. military bases in or related to Okinawa Prefecture.
The total amount was able to be slashed because the cost for new economic stimulus measures was cut from 184.2 billion yen estimated in March to 94.1 billion yen; about 75 billion yen earmarked for transfer of the Air Self-Defense Force headquarters to Yokota Air Base in Fussa, Tokyo, was removed from the cost; and 105.6 billion yen earmarked for related defense equipment was also removed.









http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20061001TDY01005.htm
 
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