Tag: Okinawa

It has been a while since GI crime has been an issue on Okinawa, but the disclosure of these two sexual assault cases has given the island’s left wing government plenty to complain to USFJ about:

The U.S. military has yet to announce new restrictions on troops stationed in Japan despite calls from local authorities after two service members were indicted for alleged sexual crimes on Okinawa. “There is currently no update right now in terms of any changes to liberty policy at the moment,” Gunnery Sgt. Jonathan Wright, spokesman for U.S. Forces Japan, told Stars and Stripes by phone Monday.

Tensions have escalated on Okinawa, where the U.S. military stations approximately 30,000 service members, more than 50% of its troops in Japan, following disclosures in late June of the two indictments by the Naha Public Prosecutors Office. The commanding generals of Okinawa-based III Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Corps Installations Pacific directed their commanders to “reinforce their expectations of standards and conduct across the force,” III MEF spokesman 1st Lt. Owen Hitchcock said by email Monday.

Stars and Stripes

You can read more at the link, but as I have said before, the expectation of zero crime from US servicemembers is unrealisitic. There is always going to be some crime that happens, what matters is how low is the crime rate and is it being properly prosecuted? I have seen no indications of a high crime rate on Okinawa from US troops and clearly cases are being prosecuted as these latest incidents show.

Can you idiots stop trying to smuggle drugs through the U.S. mail? How many people have to get caught before they realize this has been tried before and doesn’t work?:

A Japanese man has been sentenced to 13 years in prison and fined about $35,000 for leading a ring that smuggled illegal narcotics into Japan through the U.S. military postal system on Okinawa.

Ken Kominami, 30, who is unemployed and has no fixed address, was first arrested in October 2021 after Japanese police were tipped off to a potential drug-smuggling ring by the U.S. military, a spokesman for Okinawa prefectural police’s organized crime department told Stars and Stripes by phone Tuesday.

Prosecutors said Kominami and nine others imported approximately five pounds of cocaine, two liters of cannabis liquid and nearly four ounces of cannabis flower from unnamed individuals in the United States, a spokeswoman from the Naha District Prosecutors Office said by phone Tuesday.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but the arrests included a DA civilian and Marine who were sent to jail for their idiocy.

The U.S. military after World War II controlled Okinawa for 27 years before returning it to Japan 50 years ago this month:

Ceremonies marking the anniversary were held simultaneously in two locations — one in the Okinawan city of Giowan, home to a disputed U.S. air station, and the other in Tokyo. The separate ceremonies symbolize the deep divide in views over Okinawa’s history and ongoing suffering.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he takes Okinawa’s concerns seriously and will make efforts to reduce the burden while still maintaining U.S. military deterrence on the islands.

Kishida and his minister in charge of the islands were in Okinawa, where hundreds of protesters staged a rally Saturday demanding a speedier reduction of U.S. military forces, as fears grow that Okinawa may become a front line of conflict amid rising China tensions. (…..)

Economic, educational and social development in Okinawa lagged behind as Japan enjoyed a postwar economic surge that was helped by lower defense spending because of the U.S. military presence in Okinawa.

The central government’s development fund since the reversion has improved Okinawa’s infrastructure but the growth of local industry that was largely hampered during U.S. rule is still largely limited to tourism.

Today, Okinawa’s average household income is the lowest and its unemployment is the highest of Japan’s 47 prefectures. If land taken by the U.S. military is returned to the prefecture for other use, it would produce three times more income for Okinawa than the island now makes from bases, Tamaki said recently.

Okinawan authorities regularly face denials by the U.S. side in criminal and environmental investigations.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but to claim that Okinawa would have become an economic powerhouse without U.S. troops I find doubtful. This is because none of the other Ryukus or Southwestern Islands in Japan became economic powerhouses and they have never been host to U.S. troops. In my viewpoint if people want to protest something, they should be protesting China’s provocative activities in the area that is driving the large U.S. troop presence on Okinawa and an expanding Japanese military presence on nearby islands.

Here is some interesting survey results out of Okinawa that increasingly shows younger people significantly support the U.S. military presence on the island than older generations:

Fifty years after Okinawa’s return to Japanese control, 70% of U.S. military facilities in Japan remain concentrated in the island prefecture. But local attitudes toward the presence of the bases appear to be changing.

The prefecture announced in March the results of a survey taken last year that showed the percentage of people under 40 who regarded the current situation as “unfair” was less than half that of those in their 60s or older.

This suggests a trend that the younger someone is, the more likely they are to accept the situation. People who grew up thinking it normal to see a base in their neighborhood are searching for ways to come to terms with the facilities.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

The relocation of MCAS Futenma on Okinawa is starting to turn into the Yongsan Garrison relocation boondoggle that Korea experienced over multiple decades:

The relocation of a U.S. Marine Corps base to a less-crowded area of the southern Japanese island of Okinawa will take more than twice as much money and time as previously estimated because of the need to stabilize the reclaimed land it will be built on, Japan’s government said Wednesday.

The Defense Ministry said the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from densely populated Ginowanto Henoko on Okinawa’s eastern coast will cost $8.5 billion and take 12 years, pushing its completion into the 2030s. That adds more than a decade to the plan, which has already been delayed by more than 20 years because of local opposition and other reasons.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but I wonder if this project will be filled with the shoddy construction and corruption like what we saw in the Yongsan Garrison relocation?

This should come as no surprise the Okinawa governor is against any weapons that could be used to defend the island:

As the Pentagon hunts for sites to deploy missiles against a rising China, Okinawa’s governor is warning the U.S. to steer clear of the southern Japanese prefecture.

Governor Denny Tamaki said in an interview Friday that any U.S. attempt to base intermediate-range ballistic missiles in Okinawa would be firmly opposed by the local people. Tamaki, who was elected last year on a campaign to get the Marines’ Futenma air base out of the prefecture, argues the region already shoulders an unfair burden by hosting about half of the 50,000 U.S. military personnel in Japan.

“Intermediate-range ballistic missiles can be used to attack other countries, so deploying them would conflict with the constitution and lead to a further build-up of the U.S. bases,” Tamaki, 60, told Bloomberg News. “To have new military facilities would be absolutely unacceptable.”

Bloomberg

You can read more at the link, but it will be interesting to see where the U.S. is able to put missiles to counter China.

Pretty horrible whoever did this, but in this day in age of fake racism you never know if it was in fact a racist who did this:

The Marine Corps is investigating after a racial slur was posted to a base theater marquee on Okinawa.

The incident happened Sunday at Camp Hansen — home to 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, 9th Engineer Support Battalion and 12th Marine Regiment — Marine officials said.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but you would think there would be security cameras around the theater that possibly recorded something to help catch whoever did this.

The Marines are lucky this window did not hit a kid at the school.  Could you imagine the protests that would have happened if some kid at the school was killed by this window?  Fortunately no one was injured by this negligence:

The Marine Corps says human error caused a helicopter window to fall onto the grounds of a crowded elementary school last week on Okinawa.

The incident occurred Wednesday morning when a CH-53E Super Stallion’s window inexplicably became separated from the aircraft and landed on Futenma Daini Elementary School’s sports field, which is adjacent to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma’s fence line. More than 50 schoolchildren were playing at the time, and one boy was slightly injured from a pebble that flew up during impact.

The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing has completed a “thorough” investigation into the incident and determined it was caused by human error, officials said a statement released Monday evening.

The window, which was not properly secured before takeoff, was designed to be removed so that the crew can evacuate during an emergency, the statement said.

Marine officials said they have conducted additional training for both air and maintenance crews to reinforce proper procedures. Also, all CH-53E aircraft have been thoroughly inspected and checked for mechanical or structural issues with the windows.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but really this incident should serve as an example of why the Marines are trying to move Futenma to the northern part of Okinawa away from the major population center of the island.

At least this scumbag is out of society for the rest of his life:

The former U.S. base worker accused of raping and killing a 20-year-old Okinawan woman last year was sentenced to life in prison with hard labor after being convicted of her murder Friday at Naha District Court.

A panel of three judges and six jurors found Kenneth Franklin Gadson, 33, guilty of murder, rape resulting in death and the illegal disposal of a body in the slaying of Uruma office worker Rina Shimabukuro. He will spend the rest of his life behind bars at Yokosuka Prison in Kurihama, barring a successful appeal.

“The life of the victim — who had just celebrated her adulthood — was suddenly taken and her body was abandoned in the bushes,” chief judge Toshihiro Shibata said when reading the verdict.

“Her body was not found until it was reduced to bone; her sorrow is immeasurable … even giving consideration to the fact that the body was found by the concession of the defendant and he had no previous criminal record, there is no reason to find a lighter sentence than life imprisonment,” he added. [Stars & Stripes]

You can read the rest at the link.