Japan Press Weekly

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2016 June 22 - 28 [US FORCES]

Sexual assaults by US military have increased twofold in 8 years

The number of sexual crimes by U.S. military personnel more than doubled in eight years, a report by the U.S. Department of Defense has revealed.

The annual report that the DoD Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office submitted to the Congress in May shows that the number of sexual crime reports stood at 6,083 in FY2015, more than doubled from 2,846 in FY2007 when comparable data became available. Of the 6,083 reports, 20% were classified as rapes and 29% as other sexual assaults.

In the report, regarding incidents in which locations are identified, U.S. Marine Corps personnel were involved in 188 cases across the world. Of the 188, 13% or 24 crimes occurred mainly in Okinawa. Given that only 8% of all U.S. Marines are stationed in Japan, the percentage is abnormally high.

Past related articles:
> Serious crimes by US personnel occur more than once a month in Okinawa [May 26, 2016]
> Okinawa governor protests against rape by US soldier [March 14&15, 2016]