At the least 5 sexual assault instances involving U.S. navy or civilian personnel have occurred in prefectures apart from Okinawa since 2021 that weren’t reported to native governments.
The incidents occurred in Aomori, Kanagawa and Yamaguchi, in keeping with police in these prefectures.
They’ve solely now come to mild following an outcry over revelations of unreported instances in Okinawa that the federal government in Tokyo knew about however didn’t publicize.
Communication channels between the central authorities and the U.S. facet didn’t perform in any of the 5 instances, both.
In Kanagawa Prefecture, residence to quite a few U.S. navy amenities, a U.S. serviceman was referred to prosecutors in 2022 on a cost of forcible sexual activity leading to bodily harm.
Kanagawa prefectural police arrested a civilian employee for the U.S. navy earlier this yr for allegedly committing an act of indecency with out consent.
In Yamaguchi Prefecture, web site of the Marine Corpse Air Station Iwakuni, a person with ties to the U.S. navy was referred to prosecutors in 2022 on a cost of indecent assault.
Within the northern prefecture of Aomori, web site of Misawa Air Base, two people with ties to the U.S. navy had been referred to prosecutors in 2021 and 2022 on suspicion of rape and forcible indecency, respectively.
In every of the 5 instances, prefectural police didn’t inform the prefectural authorities, citing “consideration for the privateness of the victims.”
Of the 5 instances, three that occurred in Kanagawa and Yamaguchi prefectures had been subsequently dropped, prefectural police mentioned.
Underneath a 1997 settlement, details about U.S. military-related incidents and accidents is meant to be channeled by means of central and native authorities businesses in order that it’s “instantly supplied to the local people” involved.
Nevertheless, a collection of undisclosed incidents uncovered in Okinawa Prefecture since final month reveals that this method didn’t perform correctly.
Earlier this month, the central authorities formally introduced it’s going to share info with Okinawa Prefecture sooner or later about intercourse crimes involving U.S. service personnel, even when they aren’t publicized by investigative authorities.
It’s not simply Okinawa that has been stored out of the loop. In every of the five instances, too, there was no communication from authorities businesses to native governments.
A consultant of the Yamaguchi prefectural authorities’s Iwakuni Base response workplace mentioned, “We wish to collect info on what occurs in prefectures apart from Okinawa, similar to how info on U.S. navy incidents ought to be communicated.”
