Japan protests rape incident, Okinawa seeks stern U.S. response

TOKYO (Kyodo) — Japan lodged a protest Wednesday with the United States over the alleged rape of a Japanese woman by two U.S. Navy sailors in Okinawa, demanding the enforcement of stricter discipline and implementation of preventive measures.

As the incident further heightens anti-U.S. sentiment in the southern prefecture aggravated by the U.S. military’s recent deployment of Osprey aircraft there despite fierce local opposition, Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima urged Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto to seek a stern response to the matter by the U.S. government.

“It’s madness,” Nakaima said of the incident in his talks with Morimoto, their second meeting in as many days, and urged the central government to strongly ask the United States to cooperate in the investigation of the case and to take a stern response that goes beyond simply enforcing stricter discipline.

The governor had just visited Morimoto a day earlier to request the easing of the burden on Okinawa of hosting the majority of U.S. military bases in Japan, in the hope of decreasing the number of accidents and crimes involving U.S. military personnel in the prefecture.

Nakaima also expressed anger that such an incident occurred only a few months after the United States promised to enforce stricter discipline following the arrest in August of a U.S. Marine for allegedly molesting and assaulting a woman in Okinawa.

Morimoto told Nakaima the latest incident is “extremely heinous and despicable. It hurts the Japan-U.S. security arrangements and the Okinawa people’s trust in the U.S. military. The situation is serious.”

The minister said he would demand that the United States take stricter measures to make sure its military personnel follow its codes of discipline.

The two sailors, both belonging to the Fort Worth Naval Air Base in Texas, were arrested Tuesday on suspicion of raping and injuring the Japanese woman in her 20s in Okinawa early that day and local police sent them to prosecutors in Naha on Wednesday.

According to the police, Seaman Christopher Browning, 23, has denied the allegations while Petty Officer 3^rd Class Skyler Dozierwalker, 23, has admitted to them.

The incident comes after the U.S. Marine Corps deployed 12 MV-22 Ospreys at its Futenma Air Station located in the densely populated city of Ginowan earlier this month despite the locals’ strong opposition.

The deployment has become a hot-button issue in Japan, as many people are concerned about the safety of the Osprey, especially after two overseas accidents involving the tilt-rotor aircraft earlier this year.

Also Wednesday, Japanese Senior Vice Foreign Minister Shuji Kira summoned U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos to the Foreign Ministry and lodged a protest over the incident, while strongly urging the U.S. side to impose stricter discipline and preventive measures, according to the ministry.

After meeting Kira, Roos told reporters, “It is the full intent of the U.S. government to provide full and complete and unequivocal cooperation with Japanese authorities in their investigation of this matter.”

The ambassador, who described the incident as “a very serious matter,” said he understands “the anger many people feel” and that he shares some of that anger.

Nakaima said Roos offered him an apology over the alleged rape case when he met with the envoy at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Regarding the incident, a Pentagon official said Tuesday the U.S. Defense Department is taking the rape allegations seriously and that the U.S. Navy in Japan “is focused on cooperating and supporting the Okinawa police investigation.”

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba told reporters in Paris, where he was visiting, “We must think of a more drastic measure” than dealing with the issue through just enforcing stricter discipline or taking preventive measures.

In Tokyo, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda expressed outrage over the incident, saying it cannot be accepted, while Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said the case was “extremely regrettable.”

In 1995, the U.S. military refused to transfer custody of servicemen involved in the rape of a Japanese schoolgirl, enraging people in Okinawa.

Kyodo Press, October 17, 2012
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20121017p2g00m0dm041000c.html

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 Okinawans demand closure of U.S. bases

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. – Okinawans expressed anger Wednesday over the alleged rape of a local woman by U.S. sailors, an incident that came hot on the heels of another alleged sexual assault involving a marine in the prefecture.

Calls to remove all U.S. bases from Okinawa swelled in response to the rape allegations, with Miyoko Ashimine, head of a local group dealing with gender issues, demanding their immediate closure.

“With Ospreys in the sky and weapons on land, where can local residents walk (in safety)?” asked Ashimine, referring to the U.S. Marine Corps’ recent deployment of tilt-rotor MV-22 Ospreys to the Futenma air station on Okinawa Island despite safety concerns.

The chairman of Okinawa’s prefectural assembly, Masaharu Kina, said local residents have suffered since the end of World War II because of the presence of U.S. bases.

“The United States says it will enforce strict discipline every time there is an incident, but that won’t resolve anything,” Kina said.

“The U.S. forces seem to view Okinawa as their colony or occupied territory,” said Hiroshi Ashitomi, 66, who took part in sit-in demonstrations against the planned relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma farther north on Okinawa Island.

“Women’s rights were trampled on again because the (U.S.) bases are here,” Ashitomi said. “Okinawa’s anger has built up to the point where we will accept nothing less than the immediate shutdown of all the facilities.”

Kyodo Press, October 18, 2012
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20121018a9.html

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Angry citizens protest against rape of Okinawa woman by U.S. servicemen

About 80 people, including those from women’s human rights groups, braved rains to gather in front of the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo on Oct. 17 to protest against the alleged rape earlier this week of a Japanese woman by two U.S. Navy sailors in Okinawa Prefecture, demanding Washington remove its military bases from Japan’s southernmost island.

The two sailors, both belonging to the Fort Worth Naval Air Base in Texas, were arrested on Oct. 16 on suspicion of raping and injuring the Japanese woman in her 20s in Okinawa earlier that day. Holding up placards that read in part, “Enough is enough! Crimes of sexual violence by U.S. servicemen,” the protesters shouted, “Remove military bases from Okinawa!”

The protest rally was organized by four civic groups including the Asia-Japan Women’s Resources Center (AJWRC). Hisako Motoyama, executive director of the AJWRC, said, “The government’s stance to silence Okinawa with money and power has given rise to a discriminatory background that leads to such violence against women.”

After the rally, the women submitted a letter of protest addressed to Prime Minster Yoshihiko Noda in which they demanded thorough investigations into the case and strict punishments for the assailants.

Mainichi Shimbun, October 18, 2012
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20121018p2a00m0na009000c.html

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 Okinawa group: U.S. servicemen need restrictions

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. – A women’s group in Okinawa called Thursday for restrictions on the behavior of American servicemen outside U.S. bases in the prefecture, following the alleged rape of a local woman by two U.S. sailors Tuesday.

The group, which advocates the withdrawal of U.S. military personnel, submitted a petition at the U.S. Consulate General in the city of Urasoe seeking an apology for the woman, who is in her 20s.

Suzuyo Takazato, 72, a leader of the group, said an official of the consulate told them that the petition will be taken seriously.

Kantoku Teruya and Tokushin Yamauchi, Social Democratic Party and Diet members from Okinawa, and others also lodged a protest with the consulate over the incident and called for measures to prevent a repeat.

The Okinawa Prefectural Assembly said Thursday it will adopt a resolution to protest the alleged rape next Monday. In the statements, which will likely be adopted unanimously, assembly members will seek strict punishment of the accused and an overhaul of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement.

Kyodo Press, October 19, 2012
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20121019b7.html

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 Okinawa assembly voices “burning resentment” over alleged rape

NAHA, Japan (Kyodo) — The Okinawa prefectural assembly unanimously adopted a resolution on Monday expressing “burning resentment” against the Japanese and U.S. governments over the alleged rape last week of a Japanese woman by two U.S. sailors in the southwestern prefecture.

“Preventive measures and instructions to servicemen have become no longer functional,” the resolution said, noting that 5,747 crimes have been committed by U.S. military personnel since Okinawa returned to Japan’s control in 1972.

It said the latest incident “goes far beyond our patience and has prompted the residents here to raise voices to seek complete removal of U.S. bases in Okinawa.”

The incident occurred on the heels of the deployment of Osprey aircraft at a U.S. military base in the prefecture despite strong local opposition.

In the resolution, the assembly members also called for strict punishment of the two Navy sailors and an overhaul of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement, which governs the handling of U.S. military personnel in Japan.

Masaharu Kina, chairman of the assembly, told reporters that “our rage is indescribable” as the incident occurred as the level of local mistrust of the U.S. military and the central government has increased with the deployment of the Osprey transport aircraft, known for fatal and other accidents.

Kyodo Press, October 22, 2012
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20121022p2g00m0dm040000c.html

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