The governor of Okinawa decried reported crimes and alleged sexual assaults by American service members on the island and a lack of transparency from the military during a visit to the U.S. on Tuesday.
Denny Tamaki told a gathering of reporters in Washington, D.C., that the incidents -- three in total revealed this summer -- have caused great pain to the community. Moreover, Tamaki said his office found out about the majority of those recent cases through media reports, not from the U.S. military.
"We were very, very shocked, because we indirectly knew of this information," Tamaki said through a translator. "We cannot just leave the training itself to the military side and not know what is going on. And at the same time, we, as Okinawa prefectural government, we need to assure our citizens that we are actually protecting their lives and safety."
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Tamaki's visit to Washington was just a few days separated from a report that a third U.S. service member, a 20-year-old unidentified U.S. Marine, had been accused of sexually assaulting and harming a woman in June, according to Stars and Stripes.
"The Marine Corps is aware of an allegation of criminal misconduct by an Okinawa-based Marine, and we are fully cooperating with all appropriate authorities during the ongoing investigation," 1st Lt. Owen Hitchcock, spokesman for III Marine Expeditionary Force, told Stars and Stripes. "The alleged behavior does not reflect the core values of the U.S. Marine Corps, nor does it represent the conduct of the overwhelming majority of Okinawa-based Marines."
The Marine Corps did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Military.com.
That case has been passed along by Okinawa Prefectural Police to the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office, Stripes reported.
Two other cases have been publicized this summer. In July, Senior Airman Brennon R.E. Washington, 25, pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a minor in December, according to local media reports.
Additionally, Marine Lance Cpl. Jamel Clayton, 21, allegedly tried to choke and sexually assault a woman in the western part of Okinawa in May, Military.com previously reported.
Tamaki, who described the cases as "despicable and heinous," said that the incidents involving Washington and Clayton were not directly shared with the Okinawa government.
"This ... information sharing system did not function at all," he told reporters.
When news of the two alleged assaults went public, the vice governor of Okinawa made a strong protest and appealed to the U.S. Air Force, and he made a protest to the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for not conveying the information.
It is not clear whether the third case involving the Marine was shared with Okinawa officials in a more timely manner. Tamaki said his office was aware of the case but had not yet shared it publicly because the victim wanted to keep the case out of the media, and an indictment had not yet been delivered by the court system.
In July, Lt. Gen. Ricky Rupp, commander of U.S. Forces Japan, responding to the media reports, said in a statement that "liberty policy for all forces in Japan is currently being thoroughly reviewed, with the aim of fostering consistent policies across U.S. forces in Okinawa."
It is not yet clear what permanent policies have been changed since that statement.
The three cases have reopened historic wounds between the U.S. and the local communities in Okinawa, Japan.
In 1995, three service members rented a van, kidnapped a 12-year-old Okinawan girl, and proceeded to beat and rape her. While the three were convicted and sentenced to incarceration in Japanese prison, the case led to protests and legal reforms related to the legal rights of service members facing crimes in the country.
Under the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement, service members are often turned over to the military when accused of committing crimes against Japanese locals and can be tried by the military justice system, instead of the local judicial system.
Tamaki has called for a review of the terms of that agreement related to information sharing with his office and a more fair justice system.
"When heinous crimes as such do occur, it does state in the Status of Forces Agreement that the U.S. side will cooperate with the Japanese side," Tamaki said. "But the actual fact is that this only happens in favor of the U.S. military side. So, therefore, that is why we continue to mention that a fundamental review of the Status of Forces Agreement is necessary."
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