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

A U.S. sailor in Yokosuka sentenced to life in prison

The Yokohama District Court on June 2 handed down a life imprisonment sentence to a U.S. sailor who robbed and killed a Japanese woman in January in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture.

After the ruling, the victim's brother commented on this exceptionally speedy trial that took only two and half months, saying "I feel that behind this is the planned deployment of a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier (in Yokosuka). Being conscious of public opinions, I think, the commander of the carrier Kitty Hawk and its crew members attended (my sister's) funeral and they even conducted a trash-picking campaign on the streets."
The U.S. sailor committed the brutal crime amid the increasing opposition in municipalities, including Yokosuka City, against the strengthening of the function of bases in Japan under the U.S. military realignment plan.

The judge made a point of saying, "This brutal crime committed by the U.S. serviceman on active duty caused enormous anxieties and gave a terrible shock among residents of base-hosting municipalities."

Shiiba Torao, a surviving victim of the 1977 U.S. military aircraft crash in Yokohama City in which two children and their mother were killed, said "This sentencing brought to justice not only the defendant but also the U.S. forces. The U.S. forces and the Japanese government should take this court judgment seriously."

On January 3, William Oliver Reese, a 22-year-old crew member of the US aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, asked directions of a 56-year-old woman with the intention of snatching her bag on a street in Yokosuka City. He dragged the resisting woman into a building and beat her to death. He used the cash he stole from her bag for entertainment and drinking the same day.
- Akahata June 3, 2006