Lock Down and Alcohol Ban Announced for US Sailors In Japan

The alcohol ban and lockdown on Okinawa was put into affect after a drunk driving accident involving a US sailor injured two local Okinawans.  Now every sailor in Japan is paying the price:

Sailors in Japan are barred until further notice from non-essential, off-base activities and banned from drinking alcohol, Navy officials announced Monday following a recent spate of high-profile arrests of servicemembers and civilians.

The order covers all ranks and bans both on- and off-base alcohol consumption, according to a joint announcement from 7th Fleet and Commander Naval Forces Japan.

“These measures are not taken lightly,” said Rear Adm. Matthew Carter, CNFJ. “For decades, we have enjoyed a strong relationship with the people of Japan. It is imperative that each sailor understand how our actions affect that relationship, and the U.S.-Japan alliance as a whole.”

Sailors living off-base can commute to work and engage in “essential activities,” such as grocery shopping, gym use, child care and gasoline pickup, according to a Navy statement.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but is this going to be the standard every time an incident happens?  Lock everyone down and ban alcohol?  Unfortunately with such a large population of US servicemembers on Okinawa the expectation that there should be no incidents is unrealistic.  Especially when you consider that the actions of non-US servicemembers also gets blamed on the military as well.

This sounds much like how South Korea was during the Roh Moo-hyun administration at the peak of anti-Americanism in that country.  Curfews and lockdowns did not stop all incidents, they still happen today they just don’t get the attention they did under the Roh administration.  This is because the politics of anti-Americanism in South Korea changed due to the failure of the Sunshine Policy and increasing North Korean provocations.  Likewise the anti-Americanism in Okinawa is only going to end with a political change that curfews and lockdowns will not influence.

However, it is the easiest tool in the commander’s tool box to show they are doing something until a political settlement of some kind takes place on Okinawa.  In the meantime I don’t expect the curfews and lockdowns to end any time soon.