>> Great. But is it “paid for”?
Our largest debt holder next to China, I believe.
The Japanese are one of the few host countries that pay for the expenses of the U.S. Forces in their country. They pay the COLA, housing costs, utility costs, and fuel costs for U.S. aircraft in country. The U.S. pays for the equipment, pay, and operational costs when deployed away from Japan. I don’t know what the U.S. pays for depot and shipboard maintenance, but the Japanese do a really good job, especially their aircraft depot maintenance.