50 years of Japan-U.S. Alliance SOFA, the Darkness

Japan Press Weekly

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

50 years of Japan-U.S. Alliance
SOFA, the Darkness - Part II

U.S. serviceman not punished even after causing traffic accident

In Okinawa, where 74 percent of U.S. bases in Japan are concentrated, residents are suffering from crimes and accidents caused by U.S. servicemen on a daily basis.

Injuries and deaths caused by traffic accidents are especially serious. According to Okinawa Police, the number of traffic accidents caused by U.S. military personnel, civilian workers, and their families was 164 in 2008, which quadrupled from 41 in 1972.

Residents in Okinawa’s Yomitan Village were concerned about the increasing number of U.S. military personnel who have moved into their neighborhoods. Their concern has become reality by the recent hit-and-run incident that killed a Japanese man.

Article 17 in the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement gives the U.S. the primary right of jurisdiction over crimes committed by U.S. military personnel while on duty. The same right is supposedly given to Japan over crimes involving off-duty servicemen.

However, even committing a crime off duty, U.S. military personnel can claim that it occurred while on duty by having his or her boss issue a certificate designating that he or she was on duty at the time. This certificate, which makes it difficult for Japan to impose punishment, has been issued in most of the traffic accidents committed by U.S. military personnel, according to Okinawa Police.

Revise SOFA

On December 13 last year, Yomitan villagers held a rally in protest against the most recent hit-and-run accident there. The village government office building in January displayed a large sign that read, “The government should drastically revise the SOFA!”

The Japan-U.S. Security Treaty and the SOFA are the root cause of Japan’s subservience to the U.S. This series of articles will focus on SOFA’s Articles 17 and 18 which are related to crimes and accidents involving U.S. military personnel.

(To be continued)