Crimes due to existence of US bases

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 IX

Crimes due to existence of US bases

Replying to the question, "How can U.S. soldiers' crimes be eradicated?" 62-year-old Yamazaki Masanori living in Yokosuka City in Kanagawa Prefecture said, "The answer is simple. Just remove U.S. military bases from Japan." His wife was murdered by a U.S. soldier.

Government must be held responsible for occurrence of U.S. soldiers' crimes

Yamazaki also said, "The structure of the Japan-U.S. SOFA is excessively lenient in regard to crimes committed by U.S. military personnel. That's why such crimes continue to occur." Even in the case of a serious crime, under the SOFA, Japanese authorities have to give up the right to exercise jurisdiction as often as possible.

Early on the morning of January 3, 2006, Sato Yoshie, Yamazaki's wife, was beaten to death by a crew member of the U.S. Aircraft Carrier Kitty Hawk. He is now serving life imprisonment.

In 2007, Yamazaki filed a suit with the Yokohama District Court against the U.S. sailor, the Japanese government, and the U.S. forces in Japan. In May 2009, the court ordered the sailor to pay about 66 million yen to Yamazaki in compensation, but decided not to blame the Japanese government and the U.S. military for this case.

During the trial, the Japanese government insisted that off-duty U.S. servicemen themselves should accept liability for their crimes, not the Japanese government or the U.S. military. The court, however, acknowledged that the U.S. military should bear supervisory responsibility for off-duty U.S. soldiers' crimes.

Yamazaki accepted this court acknowledgement as "a major step forward," and said, "It is essential to punish U.S. soldiers who commit crimes, but that's not enough. Because the Japanese government hosts U.S. bases under the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, the government should also take responsibility for U.S. soldiers' crimes." In order to legally claim government responsibility, he appealed to the Tokyo High Court.

Yamazaki's trial uncovered the fact that most violent crimes were committed by drunken U.S. soldiers. The sailor murdered Yamazaki's wife to get money after drinking the entire night near the Yokosuka base.

Yamazaki's lawyers in the trial introduced various U.S. military regulations such as the Navy's "Liberty Card Program" that limits the amount of free time of sailors who behaved badly through various measures such as a night-curfew. The program clearly states that the top U.S. military commander in Japan is responsible for all U.S. servicemen even if they are off duty.

Sato's incident should have been prevented

"If the U.S. forces had taken appropriate measures to control and watch soldiers, my wife wouldn't have been killed. Even after my wife's case, the number of U.S. soldiers' crimes has not decreased." Both Yamazaki and his wife had believed that "the U.S. forces were here to protect Japan." Even after his wife died, Yamazaki expected that the Defense Ministry or the local government will provide some relief measures. "But, in reality, that didn't happen. An official of the former Yokohama Defense Facilities Bureau visited me to provide an explanation regarding procedures to apply for compensation for my loss, but made no apology."

On January 18, 2006, two weeks after the incident, Commander, U.S. Seventh Fleet Vice Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert released an open letter to the people of Japan. He concluded the letter with his hope for strengthening the Japan-U.S. alliance further through this tragic incident.

On the third of each month, commemorating his wife's death, Yamazaki in front of Yokosuka Chuo Station takes a microphone to let the public know how his wife was brutally murdered. He said, "My wife's death was not for strengthening the Japan-U.S. alliance. As long as U.S. military bases are maintained, it is impossible to eliminate U.S. soldiers' crimes. I don't want to see a tragic case like hers repeated."

- Akahata, April 10, 2010