Opposition
With the downturn in Japan's economic fortunes and the ending of the Cold War, criticism by opposition parties and the public have increased. In 1998 former Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa proposed ending the budget in 2000 when the then-current SMA expired due to Japan's "severe financial crisis."
When the 2008 SMA came to a vote in the Japanese Diet, it was opposed by the opposition Communists, Democrats (DPJ), and Social Democrats, leading to its failure to pass the House of Councillors. Although the House of Representatives later overrode the decision, the oppositions managed to create a 1 month space between the prior Agreement's expiration and the new one's passage, the first gap since the support was established in 1978. In explaining their opposition, the Democrats stated that the Japanese government needed to "negotiate from the viewpoint of the Japanese people," while criticizing the government for destabilizing the lives of the bases' Japanese workforce.
Shortly after becoming Prime Minister of the first non-LDP government since 1996, Yukio Hatoyama promised a "comprehensive review" of the sympathy budget. The 2011 SMA was presented with few changes by his DPJ successor, however, and passed with LDP support.
Read more about this topic: Omoiyari Yosan
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