Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan on Thursday denied news reports that Washington is considering demanding that Japan and other allies pay significantly higher costs for the stationing of American troops on their soil.
Reports had said that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration was floating the controversial idea to push allies to pay the full cost of U.S. forces' presence plus an additional 50 percent in a so-called "cost plus 50" formula.
"We won't do cost plus 50 percent," Shanahan said at a congressional hearing, calling the reports "erroneous."