Japan and the United States signed an agreement Friday that keeps Tokyo's annual bill for hosting U.S. military facilities at ¥188.1 billion over the next five years and allows it to relocate unwanted war exercises — for a price.
Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara and U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos signed the accord at the Foreign Ministry.
The financial deal, traditionally called the "omoiyari yosan" (sympathy budget), is a compromise. Japan wanted to pay less because of its financial straits and the U.S. was hoping it would pay more in light of elevated tensions on the Korean Peninsula and China's rising might. Maehara said it would no longer be called the sympathy budget.