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Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Price of U.S. military crimes
Akahata 'Current' column

Kitty Hawk Beach is located in North Carolina on the U.S. east coast. In the winter of 1903, the Wright Brothers (Wilbur and Orville) succeeded in the worl'd first powered flight.

The Kitty Hawk, a U.S. aircraft carrier, was named after the beach. The carrier, from which military aircraft take off, is presumably likened to the beach from which the Wrights made their first flight. The USS Kitty Hawk carries nearly 5,000 crew as well as about 80 fighter jets and helicopters.

The aircraft are used to carry out airstrikes. They cause unbearable noise during drills. But, aircraft are not the only things that Kitty Hawk launches. Some soldiers who leave Kitty Hawk commit crimes of murder in cities where they stay.

In Yokosuka City of Kanagawa Pref., a woman was brutally killed at the entrance of a building facing a back street on the morning of January 3. She is believed to have been on her way to her office. A sailor with the Kitty Hawk, which is homeported at the U.S. Yokosuka Naval Base, confessed to killing the woman when he was questioned by U.S. military authorities.

It was only about two weeks after another sailor of the Kitty Hawk committed a hit-an-run crime involving primary school students in Hachioji City, Tokyo. In both cases, the suspects are still in the custody of the U.S. military. It is because of the unequal agreement between Japan and the United States. Prime Minister Koizumi, whose constituency is in Yokosuka, has made clear that he has no intention to revise the unequal agreement.

Last year, Koizumi stated that Japan needs to pay the price for the benefits of having the U.S. Forces stationed in Japan. Mr. Prime Minister, are you saying that Japan should pay the price of accepting the endless crimes by U.S. soldiers?
- Akahata, January 7, 2006