Why are the American military still in Japan 60 years after the war and who is paying the bills?
Have you heard the story about the Japanese Elementary School Teacher who was giving a lecture on the Great Pacific War when one of his students raised his hand? Yes, the teachers, said. The boy asked teacher (Sensei),” Did we have a war with America?” “Why, yes,” the teacher replied. “Oh, who won?” said the student. Duh!
A favorite saying of Americans since the time of Donald Rumsfeld, was Secretary of Defense, is that, “We don’t know what we don’t know.”
I’m a news junkie. I watch the evening news on several different Japanese stations every night, even though my language ability is about Kindergarten level. A couple of weeks ago I thought I understood the talking head to say that American Soldiers in Japan were living very high on the hog – all paid for by the hard working Japanese tax payer.
I’ve been around the American military for a very long time and I know that when you have to roll out of the sack at 5AM and go for some vigorous physical exercise before breakfast, that’s not high on the hog. It did; however, start me to wondering how many Japanese people believe what I thought I heard this fellow say. Maybe, they don’t know what they don’t know. How could I find out the truth? Go ask some people, I said to myself. So I did.
TAXI DRIVER: Question. Why do you think the American military are here in Japan?
Answer. I don’t know, but they make a lot of noise. I live by an airbase and it is so noisy that I can’t sleep. I work at night, you know. So I say they are here to make noise.
PEDESTRIAN # 1 (Middle age lady). Question. Why do you think the American military are in Japan?
Answer. That’s easy. They want to date Japanese girls. I see them all the time. Everyone seems to be having fun. Very nice and they seem to be gentlemen, too. Do you know any my age, she asked?
SHOP KEEPER. Question. Why do you think the American military are in Japan?
Answer. I don’t know, but they buy stuff that no Japanese would buy so its O.K. by me.
OFFICE WORKER. Question. Why do you think the American Military are in Japan?
Answer. Yes, I heard about that. They all have Japanese employees as dog walkers, bar tenders, bowling ball hole drillers and so on. They must be living a very easy life, at my expense. And they have big houses with lawns and parking for two cars while I live in a rabbit hutch and pay for their luxury living. Not fair, I say!
BUSINESS MAN. Question. Why do you think the American military are in Japan?
Answer. Let me tell you. In the late Tokogawa era there was a motto, “honor the Emperor and drive out the barbarians.” That sounded nice but proved impractical. Then, as now, it’s all about money and business. With the advent of the Meji era we started doing business with the so called barbarians and look at Japan today. There are hundreds of American Companies in Japan and hundreds of Japanese companies in America. The American military are here to defend their business interests and I don’t mind because they are defending mine too.
As you can see, I was getting answers that covered the Pacific Ocean and beyond. Fortunately, I had written down all of these people’s names and telephone numbers. I decided to invite them all to a round table discussion about a new subject. The new subject would be “What do you know about the US/Japan Treaty of Cooperation and Security?”
Where would I have such a meeting? I decided on neutral ground. A park in Tokyo would do nicely.
I took along my friend Douglas because he likes to debate and a first class interpreter so there would be no misunderstanding. This was overkill because none of them had even heard of the US/Japan Treaty of Cooperation and Security. Finally, the Taxi Driver said, “I saw on TV news that we Japanese taxpayers are spending $5 billion to support the US Military and I think that is too much.” Douglas immediately countered with, “How much do you think the American taxpayers are spending for Submarines and Aircraft Carriers to defend Japan?”
Hushed silence fell over the group!
The business man finally spoke up. It’s all about money and business. What is $ 5 Billion or 5 smillion? Who cares? Probably one Aircraft Carrier cost that much when you add in the operating expenses and salaries. This caused a ruckus. Blah, Blah, Blah and some angry Blah, Blah, Blah.
It was getting dark and I wanted to bring this to a close. The Treaty of Cooperation and Security is a Government to Government agreement whereby the US agreed to defend Japan but Japan did not agree to defend the US, I told the assembled group. If you don’t remember anything else from this discussion please keep in mind that they (US) are here at the request of the Japanese Government – to defend Japan. These Americans may be loud, smelly, fat and rude, but they are ready to give their life in the defense of your country. HOOAH !
