From (left to right), Lt. Gen. John Dolan, commander of the U.S. military in Japan, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, and Japanese Defense Minister Minister Gen Nakatani
Japan and the U.S. announced yesterday that they will reduce the number of civilians working on American military bases who receive immunity from Japanese prosecution, a step toward addressing outrage on Okinawa over a recent murder case on the island involving a Marine-turned-contractor.
The two sides said civilians covered by the Status of Forces Agreement, or SOFA, will be limited to those who meet more specific criteria than under the current definition. Education and monitoring of American troops and base workers will also be enhanced to try to cut back on crimes.
The largely symbolic change, however, does not involve a formal revision of the agreement.
The arrest in May of a Kadena Air Base contractor accused of raping and killing a 20-year-old local woman sparked renewed anger on Okinawa, where resentment has been simmering over a heavy U.S. troop presence and crime linked to the bases.
A number of drunken driving arrests of American servicemen and contractors in the weeks since, even when disciplinary measures were in place, have aggravated the sense of frustration among Okinawans. On Monday, Okinawan police arrested a technical sergeant at Kadena Air Base for suspected drunken driving.
The announcement yesterday was made in Tokyo during talks among Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, and Lt. Gen. John Dolan, commander of the U.S. military in Japan.
Under the changes, base contractors, now described vaguely as “civilian component,” will be classified in more specific terms, to exclude from preferential treatment those without skills and those who are residents of Japan, like murder suspect Kenneth Shinzato, who is a resident of Okinawa and married to a Japanese.
The new measures “will strengthen and modernize our alliance,” Kennedy said. “We strive to be worthy of the trust and friendship of the communities around our bases in the entire Japanese nation.”
About 50,000 American troops are stationed in Japan under a bilateral security agreement and about half are based on Okinawa. In addition, 7,000 Americans employed as “civilian components” were at U.S. military bases in Japan as of March, Nakatani said. Mari Yamaguchi, Tokyo, AP
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