July 1, 2023

In Okinawa, the number of arrests of U.S. military personnel, U.S. military-attached civilian employees, and families of U.S. servicemen between January and May reached 29, 20 more than last year.

It is highly likely that this year’s total will exceed the decade-high of 54 obtained last year.

This came out in the Okinawa Police Department head’s response to a question by Japanese Communist Party assemblyperson Shimabuku Keisuke on June 28 at a prefectural assembly meeting.

Shimabuku demanded that the prefectural government urge the Japanese and U.S. governments to resume meetings of the government-led Cooperative Working Team where U.S. military officers and officials of relevant authorities representing both nations can discuss ways to prevent crimes and accidents involving U.S. military personnel, civilian employees, and their family members in Okinawa. The CWT meeting has not been held since April 2017. The JCP assemblyperson also demanded that Okinawa request the two governments to revise the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement under which the U.S. forces enjoy extraterritorial privileges.