Bolton: Us Demanded Japan Pay $8 Bil. For Troops
Former US national security advisor John Bolton says he asked Japan last year, on behalf of President Donald Trump, to pay 8 billion dollars annually to host American troops.
The request was more than four times the amount Japan currently pays.
Bolton made the revelation in his new book "The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir," released on Tuesday.
During his trip to Japan in July last year, Bolton says that he conveyed Trump's request to Yachi Shotaro who then headed Japan's National Security Secretariat.
Bolton also conveyed to South Korea Trump's request to pay 5 billion dollars in host-nation support. That was about five times the current amount.
Bolton quoted Trump as telling him that "the way to get the 8 billion and 5 billion dollars annual payments, respectively, was to threaten to withdraw all US forces," adding that it puts him in "a very strong bargaining position."
The Japanese government has denied it received the US request for annual payment of 8 billion dollars. It is scheduled to discuss the issue with the US later this year.
The US and South Korea have been in talks since last September on sharing the costs, but negotiations have stalled due to the Trump administration's demand that Seoul shoulders a much bigger burden.
