Okinawa's mayor says a U.S. soldier's alleged sexual assault not only "causes great fear to local residents," but "tramples on the dignity of women."
Japan's government is calling for stricter oversight of U.S. troops stationed in the country after a soldier was charged over the alleged sexual assault of a Japanese teenager in Okinawa. Prosecutors in the southern island region charged the U.S. soldier in March, top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters on Tuesday.
Local media said the 25-year-old man had been accused of assault, adding that he knew the girl was under 16, the age of consent in Japan.
Local media said the 25-year-old man had been accused of assault, adding that he knew the girl was under 16, the age of consent in Japan.
A litany of base-related woes has long grieved Okinawans, from pollution and noise to helicopter crashes and COVID-19 outbreaks, leading to complaints that they bear the brunt of hosting troops.
The 1995 gang rape of a 12-year-old girl by three U.S. soldiers in Okinawa prompted widespread calls for a rethink of a 1960 pact that outlined the legal status of Japan-based U.S. military personnel.
That 1995 thing was a huge fucking deal at the time. It came out that shit like that happened before more than once and the army protected the perpetrators. But that particular potato was just too fucking hot and those fuckers did time in a Japanese prison.
Might've been the incident that made me realize the rest of the world might not think we are big damn heroes.
It was more prevalent on reddit but when posts about Japan hit the front page on reddit it always got barraged with negative comments with the same accusations