Calls for revision of Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) spread in Okinawa

Okinawa police on June 16 obtained an arrest warrant for a 21-year-old U.S. Marine lance corporal on suspicion of beating and raping a local woman on May 25.

The suspect, Jose Torres, is currently in U.S. military custody. He is suspected of raping the woman and inflicting injuries, including a broken nose which will take three months to heal completely. The woman accused him of the crime the next day.

The Japanese government on June 16 asked the U.S. forces to hand over the suspect, and the U.S. forces said they would consider the request and reply as swiftly as possible.

The Kin Town assembly on the same day adopted a unanimous resolution demanding an immediate handover of the suspect and a revision of the SOFA. The resolution said, "The U.S. forces for more than 50 years since the start of their stationing on the island have repeated brutal acts in disregard of residents' human rights, trampling down their lives and properties." It also pointed out, "The assembly no longer will accept their lukewarm, makeshift countermeasures against crimes."

The same day, representatives of the JCP Okinawa Prefecture Committee visited the Foreign Ministry's Okinawa Office and demanded that the SOFA, which governs the management and operations of U.S. forces in Japan, be drastically revised and U.S. military bases be withdrawn.

The JCP prefectural assembly members' group leader, Hokama Hisako, emphasized the chief cause of problems lies in the existence U.S. military bases. She pointed out that despite the Japan-U.S. agreement enabling suspects in serious crimes to be handed over to Japan before indictment, such steps in most crimes have not been taken to date. She also said, "The Japanese government's weak-kneed posture has encouraged crimes by U.S. servicemen." (end)