November 10, 2012
Akahata Editorial (excerpts)
The government is facing increasing public criticism against its unwillingness to request the U.S. military to handover to Japanese authorities a U.S. serviceman, who was involved in an incident of alleged trespassing and use of violence against a school boy in Okinawa’s Yomitan Village.
Just after the incident, Chief Cabinet Secretary Fujimura Osamu at a press conference said, “We don’t see the necessity to demand the handover of the serviceman before indictment.” The Yomitan Village Assembly in the resolution adopted on November 5 condemned the government’s attitude as “being subservient to the U.S.” and called for an immediate transfer of the suspect to Japan. The government should respond to the Okinawan people’s demand.
The incident occurred on November 2 at around midnight. Violating the 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew imposed on all U.S. military personnel in Japan after a recent rape case in Okinawa, an airman from the U.S. Kadena Air Base, after drinking at a bar, reportedly broke into a third-floor house in a building where the bar is housed and hit a junior high school boy. Local police officers arrived and found the injured airman after he fell from the third floor. The airman was taken to a nearby U.S. military hospital for treatment and has already been released from the hospital. Japan has the right to request the handover of the suspect. If Japan neglects to make a transfer request, it will mislead the U.S. side into believing that Japan does not take U.S. crimes seriously and will help promote crimes committed by U.S. military personnel.
Even after the Okinawa’s return to Japan in 1972, Okinawan people have been subjected to and terrified by U.S. military crimes. They are furious about the recent incident following two U.S. crimes that occurred in August and October. Even if the U.S. military imposes nighttime curfews and stricter discipline on its servicemen, it will not work to prevent crimes from occurring. In fact, U.S. Consul General Alfred Magleby admitted the impossibility of crime prevention in response to a protest petition from the Japanese Communist Party Okinawa Prefectural Committee.
The way to eradicate U.S. crimes is to withdraw U.S. bases from Japan and to abrogate the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty which is the basis for the stationing of U.S. forces in Japan.
The government is facing increasing public criticism against its unwillingness to request the U.S. military to handover to Japanese authorities a U.S. serviceman, who was involved in an incident of alleged trespassing and use of violence against a school boy in Okinawa’s Yomitan Village.
Just after the incident, Chief Cabinet Secretary Fujimura Osamu at a press conference said, “We don’t see the necessity to demand the handover of the serviceman before indictment.” The Yomitan Village Assembly in the resolution adopted on November 5 condemned the government’s attitude as “being subservient to the U.S.” and called for an immediate transfer of the suspect to Japan. The government should respond to the Okinawan people’s demand.
The incident occurred on November 2 at around midnight. Violating the 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew imposed on all U.S. military personnel in Japan after a recent rape case in Okinawa, an airman from the U.S. Kadena Air Base, after drinking at a bar, reportedly broke into a third-floor house in a building where the bar is housed and hit a junior high school boy. Local police officers arrived and found the injured airman after he fell from the third floor. The airman was taken to a nearby U.S. military hospital for treatment and has already been released from the hospital. Japan has the right to request the handover of the suspect. If Japan neglects to make a transfer request, it will mislead the U.S. side into believing that Japan does not take U.S. crimes seriously and will help promote crimes committed by U.S. military personnel.
Even after the Okinawa’s return to Japan in 1972, Okinawan people have been subjected to and terrified by U.S. military crimes. They are furious about the recent incident following two U.S. crimes that occurred in August and October. Even if the U.S. military imposes nighttime curfews and stricter discipline on its servicemen, it will not work to prevent crimes from occurring. In fact, U.S. Consul General Alfred Magleby admitted the impossibility of crime prevention in response to a protest petition from the Japanese Communist Party Okinawa Prefectural Committee.
The way to eradicate U.S. crimes is to withdraw U.S. bases from Japan and to abrogate the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty which is the basis for the stationing of U.S. forces in Japan.
