A US Air Pressure soldier, aged 25, has been charged with kidnapping and raping a teenage lady underneath the age of 16 in Okinawa, Japan, the place the most important American army base within the area is positioned, BBC reported.
The alleged assault passed off on December 24, and the soldier was recognized via safety digicam footage after the lady’s household reported the incident.He has been within the custody of Japanese authorities since late March.
The case has reignited long-standing opposition to the US army presence in Okinawa, which hosts greater than half of the 54,000 US troopers serving in Japan. Sexual assault instances involving US service personnel have fueled anger up to now, with one of the high-profile incidents occurring in 1995 when a 12-year-old lady was raped by three US service personnel, sparking months-long protests.
Authorities spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi revealed the fees to the general public on Tuesday, stating that the US officers are absolutely cooperating with investigators. Japan’s Ministry of Overseas Affairs has lodged a criticism with US Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emmanuel, and the primary listening to within the case is scheduled for July 12. Okinawa governor Denny Tamaki described the case as “not simply disturbing… but additionally a violation of the lady’s dignity”, and mentioned it “introduced a major stage of mistrust”.
Japan hosts one of many world’s largest American army forces exterior the US, with about 30,000 American troopers stationed throughout Okinawa. The bases have grow to be more and more strategic for Washington resulting from Okinawa’s proximity to Taiwan, permitting the US to reply shortly to any Chinese language menace. Nevertheless, seven in ten Okinawans really feel that the focus of US bases on their islands is “unfair”, in response to an opinion ballot final yr.
Accidents and crimes involving Japanese victims have lengthy stirred stress across the American presence. In 2012, a US Navy officer killed two Japanese residents in a automobile accident, and in 2017, a US military base employee was convicted for the rape and homicide of a 20-year-old native lady. Efforts to maneuver the US bases to much less populated components of Okinawa have been made, however locals need them eliminated altogether.
Nevertheless, consultants say Japan’s army alliance with the US is just too robust for that to occur, given the challenges posed by China’s rising claims over disputed waters and islands, and North Korea’s barrage of missile checks.
The alleged assault passed off on December 24, and the soldier was recognized via safety digicam footage after the lady’s household reported the incident.He has been within the custody of Japanese authorities since late March.
The case has reignited long-standing opposition to the US army presence in Okinawa, which hosts greater than half of the 54,000 US troopers serving in Japan. Sexual assault instances involving US service personnel have fueled anger up to now, with one of the high-profile incidents occurring in 1995 when a 12-year-old lady was raped by three US service personnel, sparking months-long protests.
Authorities spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi revealed the fees to the general public on Tuesday, stating that the US officers are absolutely cooperating with investigators. Japan’s Ministry of Overseas Affairs has lodged a criticism with US Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emmanuel, and the primary listening to within the case is scheduled for July 12. Okinawa governor Denny Tamaki described the case as “not simply disturbing… but additionally a violation of the lady’s dignity”, and mentioned it “introduced a major stage of mistrust”.
Japan hosts one of many world’s largest American army forces exterior the US, with about 30,000 American troopers stationed throughout Okinawa. The bases have grow to be more and more strategic for Washington resulting from Okinawa’s proximity to Taiwan, permitting the US to reply shortly to any Chinese language menace. Nevertheless, seven in ten Okinawans really feel that the focus of US bases on their islands is “unfair”, in response to an opinion ballot final yr.
Accidents and crimes involving Japanese victims have lengthy stirred stress across the American presence. In 2012, a US Navy officer killed two Japanese residents in a automobile accident, and in 2017, a US military base employee was convicted for the rape and homicide of a 20-year-old native lady. Efforts to maneuver the US bases to much less populated components of Okinawa have been made, however locals need them eliminated altogether.
Nevertheless, consultants say Japan’s army alliance with the US is just too robust for that to occur, given the challenges posed by China’s rising claims over disputed waters and islands, and North Korea’s barrage of missile checks.
