The US asked Japan to increase its participation in financing the deployment of American forces to 18.8 billion dollars.
According to a report in the Nikkei newspaper, the United States has asked Japan to contribute more than 3 trillion yen ($18.8 billion) over five years for hosting American military forces, an amount that is almost three times the current arrangement.
Japanese diplomatic sources described Washington's reported demand as difficult to accept, although neither government has officially confirmed the proposed figures.