Military Relations today between the United States & Japan
Under Allied control, Japan undertook a remarkable transformation characterized by the new constitution of Japan which emphasized democratic principles, educational and economic reform, and demilitarization which was embedded in the new Japanese constitution. The 1952 Treaty of San Francisco officially ended the occupation and General MacArthur shifted political control over to the Japanese.
This framework was the beginning of a close relationship between both countries that lasts until this day.
Today Japan and the United States have created a relationship of mutual trust, goodwill, and respect through six decades of training exercises, disaster relief, mutual defense cooperation, and more recently, coalition operations.
This framework was the beginning of a close relationship between both countries that lasts until this day.
Today Japan and the United States have created a relationship of mutual trust, goodwill, and respect through six decades of training exercises, disaster relief, mutual defense cooperation, and more recently, coalition operations.
The period after the San Francisco treaty has been characterized by close cooperation between the United States and Japan. Today, there are over 40,000 US military servicemen still remaining in Japan by invitation of the Japanese government. Economic cooperation has also been played a large role in the relationship with the US providing Japan with significant amounts of aid in the post-war periods as Japan became an ally in the Cold War. The mutually beneficial partnership has resulted in the reemergence of the Japanese economy which remains one of the strongest economies in the region.
The United States Forces Japan
"The United States Forces Japan refers to the various divisions of the United States Armed Forces that are stationed in Japan. Under the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan, the United States is obliged to defend Japan in close cooperation with the Japan Self-Defense Forces for maritime defense, ballistic missile defense, domestic air control, communications security (COMSEC), and disaster response operations."
U.S. Military Bases and Servicemen in Numbers
U.S. military strength in Japan is about 38,000 ashore and 11,000 afloat, and U.S. forces are dispersed among 85 facilities located on Honshu, Kyushu, and Okinawa. Total acreage of U.S. bases is approximately 77,000 acres. USFJ bases and facilities range in size from a several thousand acre training area to a single antenna site.
There are approximately 90 U.S. military facilities including major military bases throughout mainland Japan and Okinawa, 75% of which are in Okinawa. They are concentrated in a few areas (prefectures), 37 in Okinawa, 15 in Kanagawa, 11 in Nagasaki, and 7 in Tokyo. About 52,000 U.S. troops are stationed in these bases, 26,000 in mailand and 25,000 in Okinawa (2001). In mainland Japan, the largest contingent is the air force with 6,600 and that in Okinawa marines (15,500).
The U.S. armed forces in Japan, together with U.S. forces in South Korea, are subjected to the Pacific Command located in Hawaii though the Command located at Yokota Airbase in Tokyo also functions as an auxiliary command for the forces deployed all over Japan. The forces deployed to Japan are not a separate complete military unit but integral part of the Pacific Force as the largest of the four U.S. joint forces with a vast jurisdiction extending from the U.S. western coast and the whole of the Pacific Ocean through the Indian Ocean to the eastern coasts of Africa.
The main U.S. bases in mainland Japan include Misawa airbase in Aomori Prefecture up in the north of Honshu Island, Yokota Airbase in Tokyo, Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture, Atsugi base in the same prefecture, Iwakuni marine base near Hiroshima, and Sasebo naval base in Nagasaki Prefecture. Also there are munitions depots, communication bases, port facilities, warehouses, military barracks, residential estates.
There are approximately 90 U.S. military facilities including major military bases throughout mainland Japan and Okinawa, 75% of which are in Okinawa. They are concentrated in a few areas (prefectures), 37 in Okinawa, 15 in Kanagawa, 11 in Nagasaki, and 7 in Tokyo. About 52,000 U.S. troops are stationed in these bases, 26,000 in mailand and 25,000 in Okinawa (2001). In mainland Japan, the largest contingent is the air force with 6,600 and that in Okinawa marines (15,500).
The U.S. armed forces in Japan, together with U.S. forces in South Korea, are subjected to the Pacific Command located in Hawaii though the Command located at Yokota Airbase in Tokyo also functions as an auxiliary command for the forces deployed all over Japan. The forces deployed to Japan are not a separate complete military unit but integral part of the Pacific Force as the largest of the four U.S. joint forces with a vast jurisdiction extending from the U.S. western coast and the whole of the Pacific Ocean through the Indian Ocean to the eastern coasts of Africa.
The main U.S. bases in mainland Japan include Misawa airbase in Aomori Prefecture up in the north of Honshu Island, Yokota Airbase in Tokyo, Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture, Atsugi base in the same prefecture, Iwakuni marine base near Hiroshima, and Sasebo naval base in Nagasaki Prefecture. Also there are munitions depots, communication bases, port facilities, warehouses, military barracks, residential estates.
Sources cited in their respective orders:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/u-s-recruits-japan-as-global-military-partner/22762
http://rickrozoff.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/971003-n-2318v-002.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/uss_george_washington/8260549424/in/photostream/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Forces_Japan
http://www.usfj.mil/
http://usamcja.com/misawa_afb.htm
http://rickrozoff.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/971003-n-2318v-002.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/uss_george_washington/8260549424/in/photostream/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Forces_Japan
http://www.usfj.mil/
http://usamcja.com/misawa_afb.htm