Okinawa Governor: "An Act That Tramples on Women's Dignity"
In Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, after it was revealed that a U.S. military serviceman stationed in Japan took a girl under the age of 16 to his home and committed a sexual crime, it has been confirmed that another U.S. serviceman has also been indicted for a sexual offense.
On the 28th, Yonhap News reported, citing Kyodo News and local public broadcaster NHK, that a marine in his 20s belonging to the U.S. military base in Okinawa is accused of injuring an adult woman while attempting to sexually assault her on the 26th of last month in Yomitan Village, Okinawa Prefecture.
On May 18th, Okinawa citizens marched near the Futenma US Air Force Base in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, wishing for peace in East Asia. [Photo by Kyodo / Yonhap News]
It is known that this U.S. serviceman fled after the crime but was later arrested by the police. The Naha District Public Prosecutors Office in Okinawa Prefecture indicted him on the 17th of this month.
Earlier, on the 25th, it was belatedly revealed that the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office in Okinawa Prefecture indicted a 25-year-old U.S. Air Force sergeant stationed in the prefecture on charges of sexually assaulting a minor. According to the prosecution's indictment, the suspect, a member of the U.S. military stationed in Japan, is accused of taking the victim girl to his home after picking her up in a car at a park in central Okinawa on December 24 last year and engaging in sexual acts.
At the time, Asahi Shimbun reported that the U.S. serviceman had kidnapped the victim girl. It also reported that he engaged in sexual acts without the victim's consent despite knowing she was under 16 years old. The serviceman is said to have said things like, "It's cold, so let's talk in the car," and "Do you want to see my house?"
Media outlets reported that as sexual assault cases committed by U.S. military personnel stationed in Japan were reported with a three-day interval, anti-American sentiment and opposition to the U.S. military presence have intensified within Okinawa Prefecture. On the day, Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki met with reporters with a grim expression, saying, "This is unacceptable," and "I am truly very angry," emphasizing that "the communication system regarding U.S. military incidents and accidents must be reorganized."
He expressed displeasure over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs not sharing related information in advance before Okinawa Prefecture announced the incidents, calling it "an act that clearly breeds distrust." He also expressed his intention to protest to the U.S. military.
Previously, several sexual crimes by U.S. personnel in Okinawa Prefecture have occurred. In September 1995, when three U.S. Marines and others sexually assaulted three elementary school students on Okinawa Island, about 85,000 residents participated in anti-American protests. Sexual assault cases involving U.S. Army, Air Force, and Marine personnel also occurred in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2008.
Since Okinawa, which was under U.S. military control after World War II, was returned to Japan in 1972, there have been 6,235 criminal cases involving U.S. military personnel and civilian employees over 51 years until last year. Among these, 586 were serious crimes such as murder, robbery, and sexual violence.
Meanwhile, Japan revised its Penal Code last year, raising the legal "age of consent" for sexual activity, recognized as the age at which one is legally capable of consenting to sexual acts, from the previous 13 years old to 16 years old.
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