 U.S. military employee arrested for raping woman in Okinawa The Okinawa prefectural police on October 15 arrested Doug Allen Thompson, a civilian employee of the U.S. military in Okinawa, on suspicion of breaking into a house and raping a young Japanese woman. The incident took place on August 22 at midnight in Chatan Town, and the suspected 34-year-old US man, a car salesman at a company within the U.S. Kadena Air Base site, is reportedly denying his involvement in the case. An Okinawa prefectural government spokesman stated that the Okinawans fear continued U.S. rapes and other crimes, and demanded that the U.S. forces in Okinawa take urgent steps so that such crimes will not take place. Japan's Foreign Ministry bureau also protested to the U.S. embassy in Tokyo, which responded by stating that it will take disciplinary measures to prevent further recurrences. Akamine Seiken, a Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives, on October 15 said, "In Okinawa, U.S. forces have never ceased raping and trespassing on private housing." "Whenever a new incident occurs, the U.S. forces pledge to tighten discipline among soldiers, always ending up as an empty promise. This means that in Okinawa, living in safety is incompatible with the presence of U.S. military bases." "The criminal must be severely punished and the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement must be reviewed thoroughly without delay. Wishing for an Okinawa in peace, the JCP will further call for the elimination of U.S. bases from Okinawa." (end) |