June 1, 2019

A member of the U.S. Air Force 374th Airlift Wing assigned to the U.S. Yokota Air Base in Tokyo in late May drove a car under the influence of alcohol and caused a property damage accident in Chiba Prefecture, according to information provided by the Japanese Defense Ministry local bureau to municipalities near the Yokota base.

Soon after the accident, on May 29, the liaison council of local governments hosting the Yokota base, including the Tokyo Metropolitan government, submitted a written request demanding measures to prevent a recurrence to the 374th Airlift Wing commander who also commands the Yokota AB and to the Defense Ministry North Kanto Defense Bureau chief.

In the document, the council demands a ban of off-base drinking on all U.S. servicemen, the exercise of thorough military discipline and education, the swift implementation of countermeasures, and the delivery of information to municipalities concerned.

The council referred to another drunken driving accident which a U.S. soldier assigned to the Yokota base caused in mid-May. The base-hosting municipal group pointed out that in the recent past, many dangerous actions were committed by U.S. military personnel, voicing its grievance by saying that the U.S. military disregards surrounding municipalities’ repeated appeals for strengthening measures to prevent a recurrence of such crimes.

When the liaison council lodged a protest against the mid-May incident, the Yokota base in the name of its public affairs chief published a comment stating that Yokota airmen will be educated using all possible measures so that they will not cause a similar incident.