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Japan, US agree tighter watch over US troops
2008-02-23
Japan and the US military will tighten rules for troops living off base after a series of incidents involving US servicemen, including the alleged rape of a girl, Japan's foreign minister said Friday. Masahiko Komura said Japan was also looking at installing security cameras on downtown streets across the southern island of Okinawa and conducting joint patrols. "Japan and the United States agreed to review the criteria and policies for off-the-base residency," Komura said. "We want proper screening." Earlier this month police on Okinawa arrested Staff Sergeant Tyrone Luther Hadnott, 38, following allegations that he raped a 14-year-old local girl in his car, sparking an uproar. The Marine lived outside his base, reportedly due to his relatively mature age and a previous relationship with a Japanese woman. He has admitted trying to forcibly kiss the teenager but denies raping her. A total of 44,963 US troops, non-military staff and their families were in Okinawa as of the end of January, of whom 10,748 lived off base, according to the foreign ministry. Faced with public outrage, the US military on Wednesday imposed a sweeping curfew barring troops and their families in Okinawa from leaving their bases or off-base homes except for work, medical treatment or worship. Lieutenant General Richard Zilmer, the top commander in Okinawa who issued the orders, said Friday that the "overwhelming majority" of troops respected the law. "However, these recent incidents possess the potential to undermine the goodwill we have fostered with the Japanese people over decades of cooperative engagement," he added in a statement. The military also designated Friday as a "day of reflection" with all units undergoing activities to enhance sensitivity. "Every service member is expected to take personal responsibility for his or her off-duty conduct and we will continue to be unwavering in our commitment to maintain exemplary high standards of professionalism," said Lieutenant General Bruce Wright, commander of the US Forces in Japan. The Japanese foreign ministry, the Okinawan communities, the US military and the US embassy will continue to review measures to prevent crimes by US soldiers and report out their findings for public reviews, the foreign ministry said. "With an aim to prevent similar incidents, the existing discipline programmes shall be reviewed to make them more effective measures," it said in a statement. US troops are stationed under a security treaty reached after World War II when Japan became constitutionally pacifist. More than half the troops live in Okinawa, which was under US occupation until 1972 and is a key hub due to its proximity to the Taiwan Strait. A group of pacifists called Friday for the withdrawal of US forces and announced a conference in May to support the constitution's Article Nine, which says Japan forever renounces the right to wage war. "Japan should start taking policies in the direction of reducing and abolishing the US military and Self-Defence Forces," said Tatsuya Yoshioka, director of activist group Peace Boat, using the official name of Japan's de facto military. The peace activists said they were inviting pacifist figures including Nobel laureates from around the world to attend the conference in suburban Tokyo. The organisers plan to walk to the venue from Hiroshima, site of the world's first nuclear attack some 680 kilometres (420 miles) southwest of the capital. Douglas Lummis, an American peace activist and professor at Okinawa International University, said the conference would discuss US troops in Japan. "If Japan were complying with Article Nine just by keeping US forces here, we wouldn't have a need for such a conference," he said. Okinawa saw major protests in 1995 after three US military personnel gang-raped a 12-year-old girl, setting in motion a process to reduce the number of troops on the small island.
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