More than 16,000 Japanese workers at U.S. military bases in Japan staged a strike Friday, the second in two weeks, after negotiations failed over the government's plan to cut their benefits.
Tokyo wants to tighten the budget supporting the 50,000 U.S. service members based in Japan. The All Japan Garrison Forces Labor Union began a 24-hour strike Friday after the government failed to present proposals because of continuing internal negotiations, said Tsuneo Teruya, the union's secretary general.
"The union has made concessions. But the government failed to respond," he said.
About 16,000 union members and some nonunion workers at about 40 locations across Japan took part in the strike, Teruya said.
On Nov. 21, the union carried out a one-day strike in response to a proposal the government made last month to cut benefits. The action was the first nationwide strike at U.S. bases in Japan since 1991, according to the union.
The state wants to cut a monthly benefit worth 10 percent of each worker's salary and a special benefit of up to ¥6,000 a month.