Okinawa’s Revolt: Decades of Rape, Environmental Harm by U.S. Military Spur Residents to Rise Up
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Nearly 70 years ago the United States took over the Japanese island of Okinawa after one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. More than 200,000 people died, mostly Japanese civilians. Today the United States operates 34 bases on the island and is planning to build a new state-of-the-art Marine base, despite mass protests. A multi-decade movement of Okinawa residents has pushed for ousting U.S. forces off the island, citing environmental concerns and sexual assaults by U.S. soldiers on local residents.
http://www.democracynow.org/2014/1/16/okinawas_revolt_decades_of_rape_environmental
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Incidents Involving US Military in Okinawa
In Okinawa, where US military bases exist adjacent to densely populated areas, incidents and accidents derived from military bases occur on a daily basis. These include disturbances from US military airplanes, crimes committed by military personnel, army employees and their families, and traffic accidents. Residents have repeatedly reported their unease over such ongoing incidents and accidents. Accidents During Training There have been 1,434 incidents and accidents related to military exercises from 1972, when Okinawa returned to Japanese administration, until the end of December 2008, including 487 airplane-related accidents. Many residents will recall an accident that occurred in May 1965, when a trailer killed an 11-year old girl by landing outside of the target area during a parachute drop training exercise. In recent years, in August 2004, a US military helicopter crashed into Okinawa International University, located next to Futenma Air Station, and then burst into flames. Luckily, there were no civilian casualties from this incident, but it caused a great degree of concern among local residents. Criminal Cases involving US Military Personnel There were 5,584 criminal cases involving US military personnel during the same period, including 559 atrocious cases of murder, burglary and rape. In Japan, sexual and violent cases such as rape or indecent assault are often not made public, so the number of actual cases is considered much higher. The most recent examples of criminal activity in Okinawa are as follow: - In September 1995, three marines raped an elementary school girl. This led to a huge gathering of prefectural residents in October 1995, with 85,000 residents participating. - In October 1998, a high school girl was run down and killed by a drunken US marine. - In June 2001, there was rape case by a US airman. - In November 2002, there was an attempted rape case by a US lieutenant. - In May 2003, a US marine in Okinawa raped a woman, resulting in extensive injuries. - In July 2005, a US airman in Okinawa indecently assaulted an elementary school girl. - In February 2008, a US marine was suspected in the assault a junior high school girl. Furthermore, in 2008, the number of US military personnel in Okinawa apprehended totaled 52, including for two burglaries and three rape cases. Major incidents in 2008 included: burglary resulting in injuries by US military personnel (January 7), a US marine suspected in the assault of a junior high school girl (February 10), rape resulting in injuries by US military personnel (February 18), robbery resulting in injury by US military personnel (March 16), a US plane mistakenly dropping an object outside of the target area during training (April 9), a fatal traffic accident caused by US military personnel (August 11), and the crashing of a Cessna plane belonging to the Kadena Aero Club (October 24). - See more at: http://closethebase.org/us-military-bases/incidents-involving-us-military-in-okinawa/#sthash.5elyTaml.dpuf
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WAY OFF BASE
The shameful history of military rape in Okinawa
by Rick Mercier
Winter 1997
AS I STROLL DOWN KOKUSAI STREET IN DOWNTOWN Naha, Okinawa, there's no escaping the fact that I am on an island dominated by the United States military. The abundance of military-surplus stores and souvenir shops selling camouflage clothing (including outfits for tots) calls obvious attention to the bases that lie a little further north, but the banality and commodification give me the feeling that up the road what I'll find is a giant war theme park - perhaps some kind of joint venture between the Pentagon and Walt Disney.
As I continue walking up the street, however, I spy a crack in the commodity-spectacle. Outside a surplus shop, a wall mural depicts a startled, larger-than-life woman clutching a bath towel against her nude body. Beside her in big, bold letters is the store's name: Surprise Attack. The connection between militarism and sexual violence could not have been articulated more clearly, and it is especially apt in light of the abduction and rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan schoolgirl by three U.S. servicemen in September 1995.
That crime was no isolated incident. Four months earlier, a 24-year-old woman was beaten to death with a hammer by a U.S. serviceman. In 1993, a soldier raped an Okinawan woman, then escaped while in the custody of U.S. military police. There have been at least 34 murders committed by U.S. military personnel since 1955, when six-year-old Yumiko Nagayama was abducted, raped, and murdered by a U.S. Air Force sergeant. Twenty-three of the victims have been Okinawan women or girls (another was a woman serving in the U.S. military).
A glance at the litany of crimes reveals a correlation between U.S. military action in Asia and violence directed against women in Okinawa. During the Vietnam War era, 17 women were murdered by military personnel who were on R and R leave, were training for combat, or were somehow already involved in the war effort, which in Okinawa included daily B-52 sorties originating from Kadena Air Force Base. Eleven of the victims worked serving soldiers as bar hostesses or sauna attendants - occupations that helped keep the GIs happy and thus maintained their willingness to kill in other Asian countries. It was in this way that the military's violence in Southeast Asia - often initiated in Okinawa - boomeranged back to Japan's remote island prefecture, where Okinawan women became the victims of deadly attack.
More:
http://www.ontheissuesmagazine.com/1997winter/w97_Mercier.php
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U.S. Navy sailors convicted in Okinawa rape
USATODAY 6:50 a.m. EST March 1, 2013
TOKYO (AP) — Two U.S. Navy sailors were convicted and sentenced to prison on Friday for raping and robbing a woman on Okinawa in a crime that outraged many on the southern Japanese island.
Seaman Christopher Browning, of Athens, Texas, and Petty Officer 3rd Class Skyler Dozierwalker, of Muskogee, Oklahoma, were found guilty by the Naha District Court of raping and robbing a woman in her 20s in a parking lot in October. Both admitted committing the crime. Browning, 24, was sentenced to 10 years and Dozierwalker, 23, received nine years.
The case outraged many Okinawans, who have long complained of military-related crime on their island, which hosts thousands of U.S. troops. It also sparked tougher restrictions for all 50,000 U.S. military personnel in Japan, including a curfew and drinking restrictions.
Prosecutors had sought up to 12 years in prison for Browning, who they said also robbed the woman after the rape. Both men admitted their guilt, but the defense had argued that such a long sentence would be excessive.
More:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/01/us-navy-sailors-okinawa-rape/1955873/
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