September 2, 2010
The Okinawa Prefectural Assembly on September 1 unanimously adopted a resolution protesting the case of obscene conduct by a U.S. Marine against a Japanese woman last month in Naha City.
Assembly representatives said that they will directly hand the resolution to the Okinawa Defense Bureau, the U.S. Forces Okinawa Area coordinator, and the U.S. Consulate General in Okinawa. The resolution will also be sent to the U.S. ambassador to Japan, the Japanese prime minister, and all other ministers concerned.
Expressing anger at repeated crimes committed by U.S. military personnel, the resolution demands that an apology and compensation be given to the victim, that the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement be drastically reviewed, and for U.S. military bases in Okinawa to be scaled down and their numbers reduced.
Okinawa Prefectural Asssemblyman Maeda Masaaki of the Japanese Communist Party said, “The indecent act occurred in the middle of downtown Naha City. U.S. servicemen go out into our streets and threaten our safety.”
As of the end of last year, the number of crimes involving U.S. military personnel has reached 5,634 since the 1972 restoration of Okinawa to Japan, and they continue to occur one after another.
The Naha City Assembly also adopted a resolution on August 9 to protest the sexual assault. However, the U.S. side refused to make an apology to the woman on the grounds that the Marine in question was not indicted at that time. The U.S. Marine Corps, for a similar reason, turned down a protest submitted by the Naha City mayor on the following day. The Marine on August 25 was prosecuted for indecent assault.
- Akahata, September 2, 2010
Expressing anger at repeated crimes committed by U.S. military personnel, the resolution demands that an apology and compensation be given to the victim, that the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement be drastically reviewed, and for U.S. military bases in Okinawa to be scaled down and their numbers reduced.
Okinawa Prefectural Asssemblyman Maeda Masaaki of the Japanese Communist Party said, “The indecent act occurred in the middle of downtown Naha City. U.S. servicemen go out into our streets and threaten our safety.”
As of the end of last year, the number of crimes involving U.S. military personnel has reached 5,634 since the 1972 restoration of Okinawa to Japan, and they continue to occur one after another.
The Naha City Assembly also adopted a resolution on August 9 to protest the sexual assault. However, the U.S. side refused to make an apology to the woman on the grounds that the Marine in question was not indicted at that time. The U.S. Marine Corps, for a similar reason, turned down a protest submitted by the Naha City mayor on the following day. The Marine on August 25 was prosecuted for indecent assault.
- Akahata, September 2, 2010
