U.S. HOUSE CALLS HIGHER JAPAN DEFENSE SPENDING
The House today supported a call for
Japan to boost its defense spending to help share the burden of
protecting Western interests in sensitive areas around the
world, including in the Gulf.
    House member approved a measure that would require
Secretary of State George Shultz to enter into talks with Japan
on increasing Japanese defense spending to at least 3 pct of
its gross national product.
    The measure, passed during consideration of the 1988-89
State Department funding bill would not require an increase,
but legislators called on Japan to spend more on defense. The
Senate must approve the measure before it becomes law.
    "We don't have to bash the Japanese. We have to show them
how to share the burden of the defense of the free world," said
Rep. Robert Dornan, a California Republican.
    The amendment calls on Shultz to enter into talks with
Japan with the aim of reaching agreement on one of two
alternatives: either Japan can spend 3 pct of its GNP on
defense by itself or give the equivalent amount of money to the
United States as a kind of security fee.
 Reuter
