United States Military Aid Japan

In the first televised debate in 30 years among leaders of Japan's major political parties, Socialist Party Chairwoman Takako Doi declared Friday that her organization welcomes proposals by some Americans to abolish the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty. The Socialists had been trying to remove an image of radicalism by softening their traditional advocacy of abrogation of the pact, and Doi had declared that a Socialist-led government would not abrogate the treaty unilaterally.

A former Japanese central banker close to top policy-makers predicted on Tuesday that Japan will continue supporting 20% of the estimated cost of the U.S.-led Persian Gulf War if the fighting lasts beyond March. That could amount to another $8 billion by June, on top of the $9 billion pledged last Thursday and $2 billion pledged last September, Yoshio Suzuki, vice chairman of the prestigious Nomura Research Institute and a former Bank of Japan director, told foreign correspondents.

The Bush Administration is planning to start passing the tin cup overseas once again, seeking a new round of financial contributions from foreign governments to help pay for the mounting costs of the U.S. troop deployment in the Persian Gulf, Administration sources said this week.

Japanese businesses in the United States are postponing parties, canceling sporting events and donating money and blood to support the Gulf War effort and thwart potential anti-Japanese sentiment over what had been criticized as the nation's limited contribution. In the past several weeks, criticism has grown in Washington and elsewhere that Japan's pledge of $4 billion in aid was insufficient to secure an area that provides nearly 70% of its oil.

Japan today announced that it will give Turkey, Jordan and Egypt $2 billion in aid and add $1 billion to its support for U.S.-led multinational forces in the Middle East to bring the total for those forces to $2 billion. The increment in aid to the American-led forces was a clear response to mounting criticism of Japan in the U.S.

Japanese officials were assembling a new AID PACKAGE to support the gulf war. Tokyo said it would surpass the $4 billion Japan pledged earlier. Japan has been under fire in Washington for being slow in pledging aid. It offered $1 billion in September, then added another $3 billion in response to criticism from the U.S. Congress. Of the $4 billion, half is for the multinational forces and half to help the economies of nations hurt by the gulf crisis.

The Bush Administration has decided not to seek a tax increase to help finance the war in the Persian Gulf, even though the military action is already costing between $600 million and $1 billion per day, Administration and congressional sources said Monday. The decision means that the United States will instead be forced to boost government borrowing--and expand the already massive budget deficit--in order to pay for the high-tech war in the gulf.

U.S. Ambassador Mike Mansfield called Monday on Japan to join in dropping trade barriers and contribute more to its own defense. Mansfield's remarks came two days after Japanese farmers smashed and burned an American car, torched boxes of U.S. oranges and set fire to a U.S. flag in a rally in western Japan. The estimated 300 farmers were protesting U.S. demands that Japan end its restrictions on imported beef and oranges.

Japanese Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita promised Friday to pay more for the U.S. defense of Japan, but downplayed expectations that he might make trade concessions when he visits Washington next week. "I will not be going to the summit meeting with any preset ideas as to what specific issues I shall discuss with (President Reagan), such as farm trade and public works," he told foreign reporters. He said Tokyo had decided to shoulder a greater share of the costs of U.S. military bases in Japan.

Defense Secretary Dick Cheney said Friday he was pleased at increases in Japan's new defense budget for the support of U.S. forces stationed there. In a statement issued at the Pentagon while he is vacationing in Wyoming, Cheney said he welcomed the announcement of Japan's 1990 draft budget and was encouraged at the decision to fund the final year of the current Japanese defense plan.

The Bush Administration has decided not to seek a tax increase to help finance the war in the Persian Gulf, even though the military action is already costing between $600 million and $1 billion per day, Administration and congressional sources said Monday. The decision means that the United States will instead be forced to boost government borrowing--and expand the already massive budget deficit--in order to pay for the high-tech war in the gulf.

Japanese officials were assembling a new AID PACKAGE to support the gulf war. Tokyo said it would surpass the $4 billion Japan pledged earlier. Japan has been under fire in Washington for being slow in pledging aid. It offered $1 billion in September, then added another $3 billion in response to criticism from the U.S. Congress. Of the $4 billion, half is for the multinational forces and half to help the economies of nations hurt by the gulf crisis.

The Bush Administration is planning to start passing the tin cup overseas once again, seeking a new round of financial contributions from foreign governments to help pay for the mounting costs of the U.S. troop deployment in the Persian Gulf, Administration sources said this week.

The Bush Administration expects this week to finish the evacuation from Iraq and Kuwait of all Americans who have permission to leave and wish to do so, the State Department announced Wednesday. Department spokeswoman Margaret Tutwiler said that the final charter flight is scheduled for Saturday. About 300 Americans left Kuwait on Wednesday on a U.S.-chartered Iraqi Airways flight, she added. Tutwiler said Tuesday that about 1,269 Americans were still in Kuwait and about 170 were in Iraq.

Japan today announced that it will give Turkey, Jordan and Egypt $2 billion in aid and add $1 billion to its support for U.S.-led multinational forces in the Middle East to bring the total for those forces to $2 billion. The increment in aid to the American-led forces was a clear response to mounting criticism of Japan in the U.S.

President Bush's plea to U.S. allies to share in the financial burden of the Middle East crisis reflects a major change since the Vietnam War in America's view of its military role in the world. Throughout most of the 20th Century, the United States has seen itself as the "arsenal of democracy" and a principal financier in times of war. But over the past decade, Americans have become increasingly less willing to assume the burden for defending the Western world. Some analysts, such as Sen.

President Bush has tentatively decided to go ahead with a controversial U.S. deal with Japan for the joint development of an advanced fighter plane but is likely to demand tougher measures to safeguard American technology and jobs, Administration officials said Thursday.

U.S. Ambassador Michael H. Armacost said Tuesday that a new Socialist Party policy toward the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty, which he called the heart of the bilateral relationship, leaves many questions unanswered. Armacost's remark was the first official U.S. reaction to a Sept. 10 announcement by Takako Doi, the Socialist chairwoman, that the party would retain the treaty if it comes to power at the head of a coalition government. "We welcome an adjustment of Socialist thinking on the U.S.

The Japanese government is locked in closed-door debate over how far to go with its economic assistance in the Middle East crisis and must surmount "legal obstacles" before it can offer money directly to the United States to pay for U.S. military operations, an official said Friday.

The Japanese government has told the Bush Administration it plans to unveil a series of proposals next week to help the United States bear the huge costs of the American military operations in the Persian Gulf, sources said Thursday. The package will be aimed at heading off growing criticism in this country that Japan--and other U.S. allies--are benefiting from the massive U.S. troop deployment in the Mideast but not paying enough to offset the costs to the American economy.