Japan Press Weekly

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2011 June 29 - July 5 [US FORCES]

Okinawa Prefectural Assembly resolves to oppose US parachute training exercises

The Okinawa Prefectural Assembly on June 29 unanimously adopted a resolution and a statement protesting against the U.S. force’s parachute drop training exercises at its Kadena base and calling for a fundamental review of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).

In the resolution and the statement, the assembly stated that it is “unacceptable” that the U.S. forces conducted the parachute training exercises on May 20 without prior notification and are expressing an intention to continue carrying out the training at the base.

The assembly also criticized the Japanese government for accepting the U.S. forces’ unilateral approach.

Meanwhile, a U.S. serviceman who caused a fatal traffic accident in January in Okinawa City was exempted from prosecution by a local judicial authority because he was “on-duty”. He will only be banned from driving for five years. In regard to this case, the resolution and the statement stated, “The punishment was unreasonably lenient and lacked supporting evidence for his being ‘on-duty’,” and strongly demanded that the SOFA be fundamentally revised.