Port calls can offer valuable opportunity for Japanese economy

[unhappycamper]

Port calls can offer valuable opportunity for Japanese economy
By Travis J. Tritten, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, March 1, 2009

SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — A visit by thousands of eager consumers would seem like a blessing for a city suffering hard economic times.

The equation is not so simple in Sasebo.

Seaman Orvin McLean, 23, and thousands of other sailors visited downtown Sasebo on Friday during a port call by the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis. After fingering through the racks at a hip-hop clothing store, McLean bought a hooded sweatshirt and a red T-shirt for thousands of yen.

It was just one example of the $1 million in spending the U.S. Navy says a carrier visit contributes each day to the local Japanese economy.

Overall, the U.S. military pumps about $4.3 billion into Japan’s economy annually, which includes consumer spending, according to U.S. Forces Japan.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=61033