Okinawa Rape Case

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JAPAN/US: Teenager's Rape By Marine - Public Reaction Mute
By Catherine Makino

TOKYO, Feb 19 (IPS) - While the Japanese government will formally complain to United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about the alleged rape of a 14-year-old junior high school girl by a U.S. marine on the southern Okinawa island, public reaction to the incident has been muted.

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said on Monday that he would be taking up violations by U.S. military personnel stationed in the country, when Rice comes visiting next week. Rice is also due to travel to China and South Korea, where she will attend the inauguration of President-elect Lee Myung-Bak.

Police in Okinawa have taken into custody Tyrone Luther Hadnott, 38, for the alleged rape of the schoolgirl on Feb.10, but charges are yet to be framed against the U.S. marine staff sergeant. He has denied raping the girl, but admitted to climbing on top of her and kissing her in his car.

Public reaction to the incident has been muted, when compared to a similar rape case in the country 13 years ago, but analysts say this has to do with the changing security environment in the region.

"Several factors contributed to the powder keg of emotions in the previous case," Weston Konishi, Hitachi international affairs fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Japan explained to IPS. "There were widespread doubts about the rationale for U.S. bases in Japan to begin with; the Japanese had a much lower sense of insecurity about potential concerns like North Korea and China. Now, however, the Japanese have a more realistic sense of their environment being more threatened and are somewhat more at peace with the necessity of maintaining some level of U.S. force presence in Japan."

At that time, the rape of a 12-year-old Okinawa girl by three U.S. marines sparked a fiery rally, attended by some 85,000 people, denouncing the huge U.S. military presence in Japan. It was the largest and most emotionally charged demonstration since the island in Japan’s far south was returned by the U.S. to Japan in 1972. Even in Tokyo several rallies were held by political organisations and citizens groups in support of the Okinawans.

Under a mutual security pact between the U.S. and Japan, there are about 50,000 U.S. troops stationed throughout Japan, most of them on Okinawa. The island remains the key to U.S. military power in the region.

But in recent years Okinawa’s residents have started voicing strong opposition to the U.S. bases because of the potential for accidents, troop-related crime and disputes over land. Last year, 46 military personnel were arrested in Okinawa for various crimes.

"Recent bilateral agreements have tried to reduce the ‘footprint’ of U.S. bases on Okinawa and other local communities across Japan," Konishi said. "This has had some effect in reducing tensions between U.S. military facilities and host communities, although tensions remain."

There have also been procedural improvements in the way both sides respond to a crisis like this one. In the past, the U.S. was reluctant to turn over suspects to Japanese authorities under the terms of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), according to Konishi. But in the aftermath of the 1995 rape incident, the U.S. has been more forthcoming in handing over suspects in special circumstances. In this case, the suspect was arrested by Japanese police to begin with, rather than being detained by U.S. authorities first.

"This incident still has the potential to spark widespread public outrage, not just in Okinawa but in other areas of Japan, such as Iwakuni, where there is a U.S. military presence," Konishi said. "This could present a serious setback for bilateral plans to implement a realignment of U.S. bases in Japan."

While Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima did not think the alleged rape would directly affect the relocation plans, he was angry. "This is a serious criminal act that tramples upon the human rights of a woman. In particular, given that the victim is a junior high school student, I can never forgive his act." Robert Neff, a longtime resident of Japan and the former Tokyo bureau chief of ‘Business Week,’ also talked with IPS about the low-key response this time around. "The last one was much more egregious, because the girl was 12 years old and raped by three African-Americans. Even though it was horrible; it makes the current one less newsworthy. The mood in Okinawa is not as hostile as it used to be, because there is a move underway to move U.S. troops to Guam."

Some 8,000 marines are to be dispatched to Guam over the next six years. They will be supported by Trident submarines, a ballistic missile task force, F-22 fighter jets, aircraft carriers, nuclear-powered attack submarines and stealth bombers.

With such high stakes, the U.S. is doing all it can to stop the rape incident from spinning out of control. Thomas Schieffer, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, flew to Okinawa on Thursday and promised to provide educational programmes for U.S. military personnel in this country.

He bowed and personally expressed his condolences to the victim. "Every American in Japan today, whether military or civilian, wants the little girl and her family to know that we are thinking of her and hoping that she will soon recover from this traumatic experience. Our prayers are with her."

Koichi Nakano, an associate professor of political science at Sophia University in Tokyo, said: "The Okinawans no doubt feel once again let down by both governments. Everyone recalls the uproar caused by a similar sexual assault of a minor in the mid-1990s, and is reminded nothing has changed since. The fact remains that Okinawa shoulders a disproportionate share of the "burden" of the U.S.-Japan alliance, in terms of the presence of the military bases, and in terms of the "troubles" that are caused by the marines. The Okinawans want them out.’’

The Okinawa prefecture assembly unanimously adopted a resolution Thursday protesting the alleged rape. Lawmakers wanted the U.S. to apologise and pay damages to the victim, as well as "take preventive step in a way that can be clearly seen by the people of Okinawa".

In October, last year, the son of a U.S. Air Force officer was arrested on suspicion of raping and injuring a female employee at a restaurant in Okinawa. Last month, two marines were arrested for allegedly beating a taxi driver and walked out without paying the fare.



The U.S. military has tried to enforce strict official discipline and take steps to prevent crimes and there is a proposed relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenman in the city of Ginowan to a new facility in Nago, a less crowded part of Okinawa.
 
"Last month, two marines were arrested for allegedly beating a taxi driver and walked out without paying the fare."

Man these guys are old school!
 
Japanese Drop Rape Charges Against Marine "New York Times"


By MARTIN FACKLER
Published: March 1, 2008
TOKYO — An American marine accused of raping a 14-year-old girl on Okinawa was released by the Japanese police on Friday after the girl dropped her accusation, the police said.
It was unclear if the marine’s release could help defuse the furor in Japan over the case, which had led to wide questioning of the military alliance with the United States and the presence of more than 40,000 American troops here. Fallout from the accusation prompted Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to express deep regret to the Japanese prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda, on Wednesday.
Earlier, Mr. Fukuda had called the episode “unforgivable” and demanded that the United States take action to prevent crimes by its service members.
The marine’s arrest on Feb. 11 incited protests on Okinawa, where there are raw memories of a 1995 rape of a 12-year-old girl by three American servicemen.
The marine accused in this case, Staff Sgt. Tyrone Luther Hadnott, 38, was returned to Marine custody after Japanese prosecutors dropped the rape charges. Sergeant Hadnott had denied the charges, saying that he only kissed the girl as he gave her a ride home.
It was unclear why she retracted her story. Japanese authorities seemed to suggest that she had decided against legal action, possibly to avoid the glare of public attention. Some media commentators and blogs had begun to question why the girl was in a car with the marine.
Yaichiro Yamashiki, the chief prosecutor at the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office, said the decision to drop the charges had been made “out of consideration for the victim’s feelings,” according to the Kyodo news agency. “The girl herself wants to be left in peace,” he was quoted as saying.
The rape accusation, and recent alcohol-related arrests of American servicemen on Okinawa, had prompted the American military to hold a “day of reflection” and confine all personnel and their families to bases, homes and work areas.
Local governments had responded by installing surveillance cameras in some areas frequented by American servicemen and by holding joint anticrime patrols with American military members.

Its funny though it says just a "day" my friend called me yeaterday they have been on lock down like two weeks.
 
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NEVER give a girl a ride home.
We had one Staff Sergeant from years ago who gave a teenage girl a ride back home at night... and that's all he did, give her a ride home. He was driving and he saw this high school girl flagging down his car. It was dark so he got concerned for her safety. He stopped, took her in and drove her to her house.
The next day she accused him of rape. He was shocked and said that he had no idea what she was talking about and all he did was bring her home.
The MPs investigated and found that the girl's story was real fishy and it turned out that in fact nothing had happened and the girl did it so she could get money.
The Staff Sergeant had done NOTHING wrong.
So he never served time but imagine the kind of damage to his reputation this case would have had.
Never pick up a civilian in your car.
Also the same goes for old people. Some of them will take a ride in your car and then they will attempt to open the door and jump. Happened to a Gunny at my unit that one. But he hit the brakes in time and prevented any incidents from happening.
 
So the Japanese let him go; did the USMC do the same? ~ Or was the case dropped all together?
 
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