Historical Dictionary of United States-Japan ... - Bakumatsu Films

138 • JAPAN–U.S. SURPLUS AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES AGREEMENT
caused the allocation to start declining in 2001. In 2004, the “sympathy
budget” was 244.1 billion yen.
The SOFA also gives extraterritorial rights to U.S. forces and their
family members, including exemptions from Japanese legal requirements
that concern passport and visa issuance, alien registration, and
other administrative procedures normally applicable to foreigners
visiting or working in Japan. For many Japanese people, especially
the residents of Okinawa, where most U.S. military facilities are currently
located, the existence of extraterritorial for the U.S. military
forces has resulted in complaints and protests. Some local and national
Japanese political leaders have demand fundamental changes
in the SOFA. Among the demands are relocation of U.S. military facilities,
amending the extraterritorial status and relieving certain conditions
that some communities adjacent to U.S. military bases believe
are excessively burdensome. See also DEFENSE.
JAPAN–U.S. SURPLUS AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES
AGREEMENT. The Japan–U.S. Surplus Agricultural Commodities
Agreement, which was signed by the United States and Japan in
1955, was designed to help U.S. farmers unload surplus agricultural
crops (especially wheat) and to allow Japan to overcome an unavailability
of U.S. dollar and yen financing to purchase desperately
needed food imports. After ratification by Japan’s Diet, the agreement
took effect in June 1955.
In order to solve the problem of excess production and inventory
of wheat in the postwar period, the United States enacted the Agricultural
Trade and Assistance Act in July 1954 to provide Asian countries
with shipments of wheat imports financed by long-term interestbearing
loans provided by the U.S. The Act allowed Japan, which at
that time was still struggling with financial and food shortage problems
following the war, to purchase wheat (and other food stuffs) despite
its lack of U.S. dollars and sufficient yen reserves. The creation
of the Act led to the conclusion of the Japan–U.S. Surplus Agricultural
Commodities Agreement.
Under the agreement, Japan purchased imports of wheat, barley,
rice, cotton, tobacco in Japanese yen equivalent to $85 million. The
proceeds from the sale of these agricultural products in Japan’s domestic
market were deposited into a special U.S. government fund