Japan agrees to more than $8 billion for hosting U.S. troops through 2027

The Japanese government this week agreed to fund the hosting of United States military troops in that country for a further five years, offering several billion dollars for a variety of military applications.

The Japanese parliament—called the National Diet—agreed to nearly $9 billion in funding which will cover “the purchase of advanced arsenals used in their joint military exercises, as well as utilities and facilities used by the U.S. troops and their Japanese employees,” the Associated Press reported on Friday.

Notably, the budget contains tens of millions of dollars allocated to “virtual combat training systems for joint exercises between the two forces.”

The U.S. has had a troop presence in Japan since the end of World War II, with troops there being overseen by the United States Forces Japan division of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.