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If we get in a shooting war with China or Russia or their proxies, were going to wish we still had our British, German and Japanese bases.
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The same ‘logic’ is used for ANY/ALL base(s) throughout the known World...*IF*, in the Middle East...*IF*, in the Ukraine...
How ‘bout *IF* we got out of the World Police gig entirely (don’t recall seeing anything the Constitution mandating the same; and don’t give me that false fall-back of ‘national security’ BS. Fedzilla won’t even keep out the 30M+ illegal invasion force, but we’re going to worry about country XYZ on the other side of the planet? Please).
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Also, the reason we have Japanese bases is because we decided we didnt want them fully remilitarizing in their own defense. The rest of Asia decided they werent interested in that either, considering that Japans entire history consists of invasions of the mainland with interludes of re-arming and rebuilding. They are permitted a small self defense force and the rest of their military protection requirements are supplied, by treaty, by the US.
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Permitted? Whom is PAYING is the big question? I highly doubt the once-invaded.
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Do you really want to do the Pacific Theater of WW2 again in a few decades this time with Japan possessing nuclear weapons? That seems like a *really* bad idea to me.
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If nukes are a threat/flying, a ‘Pacific Theater’ is the least of ALL our worries.
Almost a century later, how much longer do We pay the bill of hypothetical war-games?
Japan does pay for US forces to defend it. While the percentages and exact numbers Japan should pay are debatable, both sides agree that Japan is paying significant amounts of money to be defended: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/31/national/much-japan-pay-host-u-s-forces-depends-ask/#.WoNDgnBMHYU
Im not saying we *should* be playing World Police - but we are committed to certain activities by treaty and honor as well as self interest and we need those bases if we are going to uphold our word.