The recent US-Japanese frictions were caused by a series of crimes committed by US militaries against local civilians in early 2008. The US GIs committed more than 20 crimes including three grave ones. The loudest crime that shocked Japan and other countries was rape of a 14-year-old Japanese girl by US Marine Sergeant Tyron Handnott in Okinawa.
According to investigators, on Sunday evening the 38-year-old Sergeant saw a girl in the street and offered a ride to her but instead brought her to his residence. When the kidnapped girl started crying he brought her to his car and raped her there in the parking lot in a settlement of Chatan, as confirmed by the police. The Sergeant pedophile who denied his guilt, was detained by the military police and taken into custody, however this event provoked a shock wave and mass anti-American rallies not only in Okinawa but also in entire Japan. The case of Sergeant Handnott reminded to the Japanese people about a brutal crime perpetrated in the island by American mariners in 1985, when they raped a 12-year-old schoolgirl in gang.
Even the Japanese leadership that usually tries to avoid public conflicts with Washington, had to rather toughly respond to the incident in Okinawa. Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda called the incident “unforgivable”. He said: “It happens again and again, and I regard it as a grave crime”. Japanese Cabinet Secretary General Notabuka Matimura said with reference of the incident that it occurred in spite of the fact that such “events happened also earlier, and that the Japanese Government requested the American side to take preventive measures”.
In turn, Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura claimed that the schoolgirl rape in Okinawa will inevitably affect the position of US military bases in the country. “We have to get rid of it at last. The event will affect the problem of the American military bases in Japan”, the Minister said at a press-conference in Tokyo. Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishaba also expressed an opinion that the crime in Okinawa may “undermine fundamentals” of the Japanese-American relations. Hirokadzu Nakaima, Governor of Okinawa where about 20,000 US militaries are stationed, also expressed his official protest to the American Administration.
Just after the incident, the Japanese Foreign Ministry promulgated a list of measures to be taken by Tokyo to avoid recurrence of such crimes in future. For example, the Pentagon will provide local authorities on the annual basis with data on all American militaries residing outside of the US Military bases in Japan. Besides, it is planned to provide for joint patrols of the local police and US militaries in entertainment areas, and mount special security TV cameras.
The American command made an effort to smother up the unpleasant incident and even took rather violent measures with respect to the militaries stationed in the US bases in Japan. For instance, Lieutenant-General Richard Zimler, Commander, the US Force in Okinawa , imposes a curfew for 45 thousand American militaries, civilians and their dependencies in the island. Besides, “The Day of Conscience of Guilt” was held in all American bases in Japan. All militaries were forced to attend lectures on morality standards and alcohol abuse. In particular, all soldiers and officers were explained that they must suppress any illicit actions of their comrades and first off any attempts of sexual crimes.
But it seems that the lectures were not very much effective. 10 days after the detention of Sergeant Handnott another military was detained on the charge of Pilipino maid rape in one of the hotels. In March, brave mariners robbed and murdered a taxi driver. Besides, several other American militaries were detained for driving in drunk, riots, drug trafficking, entry in private estate, etc. As a result, US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice, who came to Japan in late February on an official visit, had to apologize to the Japanese people for misconduct of her compatriots in military uniform and urged to maintain inviolability of relations between Washington and Tokyo. The apologies were accepted , and parents of the raped girl even collected their claim back from the police.
However, not all Japanese are ready to forget the crimes of American militaries, moreover such crimes recur in spite of assurances of the US command in this country that it has taken ”the most violent measures”. For example, this March a seaman from a US destroyer moored in the Yokosuka Naval Base not far from Tokyo robbed and murdered a Japanese taxi driver. Thereafter, the US Ambassador to Tokyo had to officially apologize, and US Force Command in Japan – impose additional restrictions on movements of American military personnel and prohibit alcohol sale in the military bases.
In order to damper the indignation over the beastliness of the US seamen and mariners the US military command in Japan declared that four militaries accused of 19-year-old Japanese girl rape in Hiroshima last October will be put on a show trial this April. However, the Japanese public and in particular nongovernmental organizations in Okinawa believe that the current efforts of the US command to strengthen military discipline will be hardly effective.
As quoted to Chie Miayagi, a teacher and activist of anti-US base movement in Okinawa , all these events happen from the date of American occupation in 1945, and many “Yankees” who come here behave so as they are in the concurred country. In her interview with the Western journalists she said that the residents of the island live in permanent fear of the American militaries who can get away with many offenses due to the Tokyo authorities occupying a passive position and US command barring criminal proceedings against their subordinates. Last year totally 46 American militaries were detained for various crimes in Okinawa but majority of them got off the mild punishment.
Yet, after the gang rape of the schoolgirl in 1995 the Japanese authorities forced by the public held negotiations with the USA to transfer the US Air Base to a less populated area of the island and withdraw more than 8,000 mariners from Okinawa to Guam before 2014. However, even after this step several thousand American militaries and many large US bases still will be stationed in Japan, so the risk of criminal recurrences heavily affecting “the strategic partnership” between Washington and Tokyo remains rather actual.
