Latest news with #OkinawaPrefecture
Japan Times
9 hours ago
- Japan Times
Ten-year sentence sought for U.S. marine in Okinawa for sexual assault
Prosecutors on Monday sought a 10-year prison term for U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Jamel Clayton, 22, for nonconsensual sexual intercourse resulting in injury to a woman in Okinawa Prefecture. At the Naha District Court on the same day, the defense reiterated a plea of not guilty. The court is scheduled to hand down a ruling on June 24. During the first court hearing of his trial on June 2, Clayton claimed he was innocent, saying that he did not choke or injure the woman and that he did nothing that would raise suspicion. In their closing arguments on Monday, prosecutors said that the woman's testimony was trustworthy because it was consistent with objective evidence, and criticized Clayton's "egoistic" motive, which was "just to satisfy his sexual desire." Meanwhile, the defense side said that the testimony could not be trusted and pressed for Clayton's innocence. According to the indictment, Clayton inflicted injuries lasting about two weeks on the woman on May 26, 2024, by committing violent acts against her, including wrapping his arms around her from behind for sexual purposes and choking her.
NHK
09-05-2025
- Politics
- NHK
Okinawa assembly passes resolution protesting sexual violence by US military
Okinawa prefectural assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution and a statement in response to a series of sexual assault cases involving US military personnel stationed in the southern Japanese prefecture. The members of the assembly took the step at a plenary session on Friday. The move comes after a 27-year-old US service member, a private first class, was indicted without arrest in April after sexually assaulting a woman and injuring another in a restroom on a US military base. The resolution is a protest directed at the United States, including US Ambassador to Japan George Glass, while the statement outlines requests to the Japanese government, including Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru. These documents say that despite the assembly having unanimously passed a similar resolution and statement in July last year in response to comparable incidents, efforts to prevent recurrence remain insufficient and it is difficult to say that the response has been sincere. The documents referred to a new forum which was launched on Friday. It allows the US military, the Okinawa prefectural government and other parties to exchange views. The assembly calls for the forum to be held regularly. The assembly members also urge participants of the forum to engage in effective discussions on how such incidents are disclosed and how to prevent them. They also request that the results of these talks be made public. In addition, the assembly calls for fundamental revisions to the Japan-US Status of Forces Agreement to allow Japanese authorities to promptly take custody of US military personnel suspected of off-duty offenses. The assembly also requests that both the Japanese and the US governments take responsibility for providing care, apologies and compensation to victims. It calls for ongoing human rights education for US military personnel and the implementation of effective measures to prevent similar incidents on military bases.
Japan Times
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
LDP lawmaker Shoji Nishida refuses to retract remarks over WWII exhibits
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Shoji Nishida has refused to withdraw remarks he made over exhibits about the "Himeyuri" nursing corps who died in the fierce Battle of Okinawa in the final phase of World War II. At a symposium held in the city of Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, on Saturday, Nishida said that descriptions at a monument to commemorate the Himeyuri corps of female students had rewritten history, according to informed sources. Speaking to reporters in Tokyo on Wednesday, Nishida said that while he had no intention of hurting the feelings of the people of Okinawa, he refused to retract the remarks in question. In a speech during the symposium, Nishida said that he was not familiar with the current exhibits at the monument, but he said the "descriptions seem to suggest that Japanese soldiers stormed into (Okinawa), leading the Himeyuri corps to die." "Then the U.S. troops came to set Okinawa free," he said of the descriptions. Nishida said such stories were widely shared in Okinawa, and noted how history education, including the interpretation of the ground battle, is quite disorderly. But he did not provide any specific evidence. While acknowledging that he made the remarks in question, Nishida on Wednesday told reporters that they were based on his impressions from a visit he made more than 10 years ago. "It is very regrettable," he said, adding, "I'm telling the truth and I have nothing to retract." His remarks came under fire from both within the LDP and outside the party. Hajime Zaha, secretary-general of the LDP's Okinawa chapter, told reporters that he had no choice but to protest. The remarks are "extremely inappropriate," Junya Ogawa, secretary-general of the leading opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said at a news conference. The Himeyuri monument is inscribed with the names of 227 students and teachers mobilized for the now-defunct Imperial Japanese Army.
