Japan will foot 75 percent of the costs to transfer some of the drills of U.S. fighters at three U.S. air bases in Japan to six bases of the Self-Defense Forces, while the United States will cover the remaining 25 percent, Japanese officials said Thursday.
The two governments reached the agreement at a meeting of a joint bilateral commission on the U.S. military presence in Japan based on an accord last May to gradually transfer the drills to the SDF bases where the two countries will hold joint training, Senior Vice Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said.
The officials said the two nations plan to carry out the first joint drills as early as March and will announce details of the exercises in late January, including where and when they will be conducted.