In Japan, two recent cases of sexual assault by American soldiers near the Okinawa base have rekindled the debate over the presence of US troops on the strategically located island. The news of the arrest of two soldiers has once again brought out the feeling of hostility among part of the population towards American soldiers. A tension that prompted the US ambassador there to express his regrets this Saturday, July 6, in the handling of these cases of sexual assault.
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“ We must do better “The release of Rahm Emanuel, the ambassador of UNITED STATES At Japan was expected. While he acknowledged that the troop education and training protocols were not working, this statement may not be enough to calm things down, as he did not apologize.
Yet these two cases of sexual assault have deeply shocked the island of Okinawa, which hosts half of the 50,000 American troops present in the country. A first soldier was arrested in March for the kidnapping and sexual assault of a teenage girl. Prosecutors in the southern region of Japan have indicted this soldier, government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi revealed to journalists on Tuesday, June 25. As an aggravating circumstance, according to local media, the 25-year-old man knew that the teenager was under 16, the age of consent in Japan. Two months later, a Marine was also arrested for attempted rape.
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Local residents are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the presence of American troops
Cases that bring back terrible memories in Okinawa. In 1995, the rape of a twelve-year-old girl by three soldiers led to large demonstrations against the presence of American troops on Japanese territory. A year later, an agreement was reached for the closure of a US military base.
Local residents are finding it increasingly difficult to tolerate the presence of American troops, complaining not only about individual behavior but also about noise pollution and helicopter crashes, some of which have been deadly. The excessive burden of hosting military bases is a daily reality for us and it is intolerable. “We are in a very difficult position,” lamented Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki, while the region represents only 0.6% of Japan’s land area but is home to about 70% of the U.S. military presence in the country.
A worrying situation for Washington, which is particularly attached to its bases in Japan, the importance of which has become crucial in the context of tensions with China.
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