Japan Press Weekly

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2016 June 8 - 14 [US FORCES]

Supra-partisan Okinawa assemblymen call for withdrawal of Marines and revised SOFA

A group of supra-partisan Okinawa prefectural assemblypersons on June 10 visited Tokyo to hand over statements, which the Assembly adopted following the rape and murder of an Okinawan woman by a former U.S. marine, to the Japanese and U.S. authorities.

The Assembly in late May adopted a resolution and a written opinion calling for the closure and removal of the U.S. Futenma base in Ginowan City, the cancellation of the plan to relocate the base within Okinawa, the withdrawal of the U.S. Marine Corps from Okinawa, and a drastic revision of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).

Liberal Democratic Party assemblymen walked out of the assembly hall before the vote on these statements, but they joined the Okinawa delegation visiting Tokyo to make a representation to the two governments.

Vice Defense Minister Wakamiya Kenji, receiving the statements, avoided mentioning anything about specific measures. Aaron Snipe of the U.S. Embassy in Japan, who is in charge of security policies, told the delegation from Okinawa that because of the SOFA U.S. military personnel and civilian employees can be kept under control, and that instead of a SOFA revision, slight adjustments would be more effective. He also said persons who commit crimes are everywhere, defending the lax discipline in the U.S. military.

At a press conference after the representation, Arakaki Seiryo (independent), the head of the delegation, criticized both the Japanese and U.S. governments, by saying, “The SOFA protects U.S. servicemen. We, Okinawans, have a far different understanding of the SOFA from what they have.” Kayo Sogi (Japanese Communist Party) said, “Every time a crime happens, the two governments always say we will work on ‘prevention of recurrence’ and implement ‘tougher discipline’. So, I asked them why such measures have not worked, but they didn’t respond to this question.”

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Nightly curfew lifted after only 4 days

The U.S. Navy headquarters in Japan on June 10 announced that it will lift the restrictions on off-duty activities imposed upon its personnel in the wake of the arrest of a U.S. sailor assigned to the Kadena base for causing a drunk-driving accident and injuring two Japanese people in the accident.

With this, U.S. Naval personnel will be free to leave the base after work. However, the general public as well as Okinawans are raising serious questions about the lifting of the curfew only four days after it was imposed.

Past related articles
> Drunken US sailor causes car accidents despite ‘tightened official discipline’ [June 1 & 6, 2016]
> Okinawa Prefectural Assembly demands USMC withdrawal for the first time [May 27, 2016]
> Okinawans protest alleged murder of Japanese woman by ex-US marine [May 21, 2016]