Chatan Town Assembly calls for curfew on U.S. soldiers

Okinawa's Chatan Town Assembly on July 27 adopted a unanimous resolution calling for a late-night curfew to be imposed on U.S. military personnel stationed in the region. It also demanded a review of the alignment of U.S. military bases to allay Okinawa's burden.

The resolution represents the townspeople's protest against the serial damaging-property crimes committed by a U.S. airman and a U.S. Marine in Naha City on July 21, which came after a U.S. Marine's sexual assault on a Chatan woman in June.

So far, the U.S. Forces are refusing to accept the town's request for a curfew. The resolution suggests that residents might have to take measures in self-defense against U.S. military personnel's night-time outings in the town's residential areas, including setting up off-limit zones.

The resolution is addressed to the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, the Commander of the U.S. Forces in Japan, Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro and Foreign Minister Tanaka Makiko. (end)