Japan just did what NATO refused to do.
While European allies told Trump to pound sand on the Hormuz Strait, Tokyo is opening its wallet.
The Japanese government is now considering paying — out of its own budget — to harden US military bases in Japan against missile attack.
That's right. Japan is going to pay America to upgrade America's bases.
This comes weeks after Trump told Fox News that "Japan is a better ally than NATO."
He wasn't wrong.
Japan already covers roughly $1.9 billion a year in host-nation support — covering utilities, base labor, and training relocation for the 50,000 US troops stationed there.
The new five-year cost-sharing agreement is being renegotiated this summer, and Tokyo is coming to the table with offers, not complaints.
Meanwhile, NATO members spent the spring publicly refusing Trump's request for naval support in the Strait of Hormuz.
Prime Minister Takaichi didn't refuse. She didn't make excuses.
She found a way to say yes — within Japan's constitutional limits — and now her government is going further than any other US ally.
This is what an actual alliance looks like.