Japanese authorities investigate US marine over assault, rape allegations
A United States Marine stationed in Japan's Okinawa prefecture has been charged with the rape of a Japanese civilian woman and the assault of another woman who tried to intervene, according to officials familiar with the investigation.
The incident allegedly took place in March in a restroom located within a US military base in Okinawa. Japanese police, in coordination with US military authorities, launched an investigation shortly afterward.
The suspect, a man in his 20s whose identity has not been disclosed, remains under American jurisdiction by the bilateral Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which governs the legal handling of US personnel in Japan.
According to sources cited by local media, the second woman involved sustained injuries while attempting to rescue the victim from the assault. The case was formally referred to prosecutors by Okinawa police on April 7.
This case marks the third alleged sexual assault involving US military personnel in Okinawa since June 2024, further inflaming longstanding tensions between the local population and the American military presence on the island.
Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki, a long-time critic of the US military footprint in the region, condemned the alleged assault as 'very deplorable' and reiterated calls for stricter safeguards.
'We strongly urge the US military to implement concrete and effective measures to prevent such incidents from happening again,' said Tamaki during a press briefing.
The US Ambassador to Japan, George Glass, also released a statement expressing deep concern.
'We deeply value the bonds we've built with our Japanese partners and host communities. These incidents jeopardise the trust we've cultivated over many decades,' Glass stated.
Public frustration in Okinawa continues to rise. Despite agreements between the US and Japanese governments to reduce the military presence and relocate certain bases, implementation has faced repeated political and legal obstacles.
In 2012, Tokyo and Washington agreed to relocate 9,000 Marines from Okinawa and move key facilities to less populated areas or other locations such as Guam. Yet, over a decade later, only a fraction of that plan has been realised.
This week, in a rare show of joint coordination, Japanese police and US military personnel conducted joint patrols in Okinawa City's entertainment districts, an effort to deter future crimes and reassure residents. The patrols were the first of their kind since 1974.
Okinawa hosts more than half of the 47,000 US troops stationed in Japan and nearly two-thirds of all American military installations in the country. Tensions over the US presence date back decades and have periodically erupted in protest following major incidents, most notably the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old girl by three US servicemen—a crime that triggered national outrage and demands for change.
In 2024 alone, 80 individuals connected to the US military were charged with crimes in Okinawa. With this latest case, three servicemen have now been formally accused of sexual violence on the island in less than a year.
While the suspect in the March assault remains under US control, Japanese prosecutors will ultimately decide whether to pursue formal charges under Japanese law. If indicted, a request could be made for custody transfer in line with SOFA provisions, though such outcomes are rare and often politically sensitive.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
3 hours ago
- Express Tribune
'Female leadership of Pakistan, Japan to forge ties'
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif and the first woman Deputy Governor of Tokyo, Matsumoto Akiko, have agreed to promote mutual ties between the female leadership of Pakistan and Japan. The two leaders emphasised during their meeting in Tokyo that the leadership role of women is a common feature for Pakistan and Japan. Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz congratulated Matsumoto Akiko on becoming the first female Deputy Governor of Tokyo and commended her role in public service for the last 35 years in the Japanese government. According to an official statement, the leaders agreed to promote relations between Pakistan and Japan. Matters pertaining to promoting cooperation between Punjab and Japan along with launching joint ventures in various sectors were discussed. Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz underscored, "We want to benefit from Japan's experience and technology in the fields of infrastructure, urban development, renewable energy and clean water projects." The development of a clean Punjab on the model of Tokyo's 'Clean Authority' also came under discussion. Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz apprised the deputy governor of the projects launched by the Punjab government relating to comfortable travel facilities as well as plans to make the province clean and green. She said revolutionary projects had been launched to empower women in the province. She termed Japan a wonderful amalgamation of sterling progress and values as a role model for the rest of the world. During a visit to the headquarters and plant of world-renowned Japanese dairy products company Morinaga, the chief minister invited the firm that has been operating for the past 100 years to invest in the dairy sector in Punjab. She said on the occasion, "Morinaga International has been offered projects for local production of baby food, bakery products and export-quality meat." She agreed to use modern Japanese machinery and methods in the animal sector, especially for the breeding of healthy animals to obtain quality meat.
Express Tribune
5 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Drop scene at Alaska
Alaska has certainly been a pinnacle of political drama. American President Donald Trump announced a meet-up with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, one week before, on Truth Social. Alaska was special because it is cold and far-off and had been a possession of the Russian Empire from 1732 to 1867, and also because the United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, and the ICC, which has issued Putin's arrest warrants. The hearts of the world audience throbbed with the idea of world's two most powerful men meeting in a far-off, snow-clad fairyland, where Zeus Trump was surely going to end the battle of Titanomachy in Tartarus Ukraine with the help of Prometheus Zelensky, subduing Titan Putin with his thunderbolt sanctions to a complete defeat or at least a ceasefire drop-scene. But reality is different from wishfulness. And the reality is that Putin is wining at the warfront. Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhian have been annexed as of 2022; and Crimea as of 2014. Kherson is over two-thirds occupied, and Russian forces are gaining more areas mile-by-mile in their continuous pursuit. Moreover, Putin's narrative of a cultural and historic unification in the people of Ukraine and Russia resounds stronger with the people of the conflict zone than Zelensky's claim that entering NATO and EU is the sovereign right and need of Ukraine. Theoretically, wars end only when both sides perceive that peace is more beneficial for them than continuation of war. And war aims of both sides keep changing based on battlefield outcomes. The domestic political factors also matter; and on the Ukrainian side they are reflected by a war-torn battle zone, with millions of refugees and internally displaced, war deaths in hundreds of thousands, destruction of infrastructure and livelihoods and constant fear of attacks — all things pointing to the people's likely frustration and anger. The Russians on the other side have not lost any area, and their war gains have bolstered their national image and pride as a daunting military power that can stand against NATO and the US. So, while Putin's stature has risen from a strongman to a successful strategist, Zelensky's has dwarfed to that of an opportunist, seeking guarantees from the US and EU, because after billions of dollars of aid and military equipment already given, he has proven to be strategically unviable. Comparing today's Ukraine War with the wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan, it is clear that they were won by indigenous freedom-fighting forces committed to the cause of their nation and land; whereas here the people's commitment seems missing, simply because they feel that they have been drawn into an unnecessary war (resulting in minimal trust in Zelensky as their leader) and that Russia is not an enemy. So, as the war outcomes continually favour Russia, it does not perceive any benefit in ending the war without having the deal it wants. And as the Alaska Summit approached, Trump must have known that Putin was not in the mood to surrender. Rather, he was likely to ask for a deal that ensures Ukraine's disconnection from NATO/EU membership; Russia's keeping of territories it has annexed; and exclusion of any Western guarantees that promise the presence of any Western militaries in Ukraine. Or, going a step further, Putin could also ask for Zelensky's removal and the reinstatement of a pro-Russia regime as was before 2014. Trump also knew that he was to defend a weak Zelensky, one who has already hinted that a settlement involving territorial concessions might be conceivable if backed by Western guarantees. Clearly, Zelensky is not depending upon the resolve of his people or of his fighters, but upon maneuvering the EU and US so as to extract maximum possible benefits and guarantees – one of which would be ensuring his staying in power. But to Zelensky's detriment, neither the EU nor the US is in a position to do him much good. Three days after Alaska, Zelensky was in the White House along with Ursula von der Leyen, Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz, Keir Starmer. The room was decorated with a large map of Ukraine, with all Russian occupied territories painted in red — a clear message of what Zelensky will have to give away. All the guests were repeating one rhetoric — that a ceasefire is required before talks with Putin, and that security guarantees are a must for Ukraine. To that, Trump simply uttered that there would be no ceasefire and that the EU would have to fulfil the security guarantees. But the EU knows well that it cannot go on with the war or any guarantees without US backing. How can they guarantee anything in a war they have utterly lost even with US aid and leadership. Neither the EU nor any of its members has an appetite to fight a war on their own. The truth was that the US had dragged the EU into this war in the first place, as it was their ambition to extend NATO right up to Russian borders, and for that Victoria Nuland was tasked to select a US puppet like Zelensky, who would ask for NATO/EU membership the day he comes to power. So, losing the Ukraine battlefront is a combined defeat for the US, the EU — and rather of the whole West. It is a stamp on the decline of Western hegemony and relevance in global matters. The fact that Europe's strongest people — Ursula von der Leyen, Macron, Merz and Starmer — rushed to the White House and returned empty handed tells the whole story. For now, Putin has said that he is willing to take Luhansk and Donetsk and freeze fighting in the rest of the territories for a peace deal, but it is probable that once that is achieved, he will ask for more and more — until Zelensky is no more on the scene! Because the eventual goal for Russia will be to have a complete pro-Russian regime in Ukraine, one with no will to tilt towards the West. The bigger global shift to be feared here is a wider shift in Europe's security architecture, which was previously totally aligned and subservient to the US against a perceived enemy — Russia. Now that the US has backfooted from its commitment to Europe, the latter may reassess Russia as a security provider rather than an enemy — for security perhaps against the US!
Business Recorder
14 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Pakistani rupee registers 10th successive gain against US dollar
The Pakistani rupee maintained its upward trend against the US dollar, with marginal appreciation of 0.01% in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At close, the rupee settled at 281.92, a gain of Re0.03 against the greenback. This was rupee's tenth successive gain against the greenback. On Wednesday, the local unit had closed the session at 281.95. The rupee has maintained a positive trajectory against the greenback in recent days on account of improved sentiment in the currency market amid an ongoing crackdown by law enforcement agencies against illegal currency dealers and smugglers. Internationally, the US dollar drifted on Thursday as investors fretted about the Federal Reserve's independence after yet another attack from President Donald Trump ahead of remarks from Chair Jerome Powell later this week that could influence the outlook for rates. Trump called on Fed Governor Lisa Cook to resign on the basis of allegations made by one of his political allies about mortgages she holds in Michigan and Georgia, intensifying his effort to gain influence over the US central bank. The Japanese yen held onto gains made in previous sessions and was little changed at 147.41 per dollar, while the euro was steady at $1.1642. Sterling last fetched $1.34535. That left the dollar index, which measures the US currency against six other peers, steady at 98.301. Trump has repeatedly criticised Powell for being too slow to cut rates, stoking investor worries about the central bank's independence and its credibility. Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, extended gains on Thursday, bolstered by signs of strong demand in the US, with uncertainty over efforts to end the war in Ukraine also lending support. Brent crude futures hit a two-week high in early trade and were up 41 cents, or 0.61%, to $67.25 a barrel at 0637 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 45 cents, or 0.72%, to $63.16 a barrel. Both contracts climbed over 1% in the prior session.
