TOKYO — Japanese and U.S. government officials have agreed that U.S. forces stationed in Japan won’t leave their bases unless essential in an effort to stem the spread of COVID-19 cases in the Asian nation, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Sunday.
Kishida was speaking on public broadcaster NHK. He said that the details of the agreement were still being worked out.
The U.S. recently sought to reassure Japan it’s working to protect public health after Tokyo called for restrictions on American troops stationed in the country amid record COVID-19 outbreaks in some areas, which may have stemmed in part from U.S. bases.
