SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"With overwhelming indignation, we must question the present efforts of the US Forces to prevent such incidents from happening," the resolution passed by Okinawa officials stated. (AFP/File, Yoshikazu Tsuno)
'Our Rage Is Indescribable': Okinawan Officials Slam 'Yet Another Incident,' Impunity in Wake of Rape by US Soldiers
Okinawan officials pass resolution on Monday expressing "overwhelming indignation" over rape of Japanese woman by US forces
Oct 22, 2012
The recent rape of a woman has added fuel to the fire of resentment over U.S. troops on the Japanese island of Okinawa causing local lawmakers to pass a protest resolution on Monday expressing "indignation" over troops committing crimes with impunity, and has fueled calls to rid the island of U.S. bases.
The most recent incident of the 5,747 crimes committed by U.S. military personnel since Okinawa was returned to Japanese control in 1972 involves the rape of a Japanese woman by two 23-year-old U.S. sailors, who both now admit to the charge.
"Yet another incident has taken place. In fact, the severity of the incidents is intensifying," the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly resolution said. "With overwhelming indignation, we must question the present efforts of the US Forces to prevent such incidents from happening."
Masaharu Kina, chair of the assembly, told reporters, "Our rage is indescribable."
Kyodo news reports that the resolution "also said the incident, coupled with the deployment of Osprey aircraft at a U.S. base in Okinawa, 'have prompted the residents here to raise voices to seek complete removal of U.S. bases in Okinawa.'"
Okinawa governor Hirokazu Nakaima told reporters in Washington on Sunday, "We are so fed up with this because incidents like this have often occurred since before," and said, "I must let (Americans) know of such sentiment in Okinawa."
Agence France-Presse reports that about half of the 47,000 US military personnel based in Japan are stationed in Okinawa.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The recent rape of a woman has added fuel to the fire of resentment over U.S. troops on the Japanese island of Okinawa causing local lawmakers to pass a protest resolution on Monday expressing "indignation" over troops committing crimes with impunity, and has fueled calls to rid the island of U.S. bases.
The most recent incident of the 5,747 crimes committed by U.S. military personnel since Okinawa was returned to Japanese control in 1972 involves the rape of a Japanese woman by two 23-year-old U.S. sailors, who both now admit to the charge.
"Yet another incident has taken place. In fact, the severity of the incidents is intensifying," the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly resolution said. "With overwhelming indignation, we must question the present efforts of the US Forces to prevent such incidents from happening."
Masaharu Kina, chair of the assembly, told reporters, "Our rage is indescribable."
Kyodo news reports that the resolution "also said the incident, coupled with the deployment of Osprey aircraft at a U.S. base in Okinawa, 'have prompted the residents here to raise voices to seek complete removal of U.S. bases in Okinawa.'"
Okinawa governor Hirokazu Nakaima told reporters in Washington on Sunday, "We are so fed up with this because incidents like this have often occurred since before," and said, "I must let (Americans) know of such sentiment in Okinawa."
Agence France-Presse reports that about half of the 47,000 US military personnel based in Japan are stationed in Okinawa.
The recent rape of a woman has added fuel to the fire of resentment over U.S. troops on the Japanese island of Okinawa causing local lawmakers to pass a protest resolution on Monday expressing "indignation" over troops committing crimes with impunity, and has fueled calls to rid the island of U.S. bases.
The most recent incident of the 5,747 crimes committed by U.S. military personnel since Okinawa was returned to Japanese control in 1972 involves the rape of a Japanese woman by two 23-year-old U.S. sailors, who both now admit to the charge.
"Yet another incident has taken place. In fact, the severity of the incidents is intensifying," the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly resolution said. "With overwhelming indignation, we must question the present efforts of the US Forces to prevent such incidents from happening."
Masaharu Kina, chair of the assembly, told reporters, "Our rage is indescribable."
Kyodo news reports that the resolution "also said the incident, coupled with the deployment of Osprey aircraft at a U.S. base in Okinawa, 'have prompted the residents here to raise voices to seek complete removal of U.S. bases in Okinawa.'"
Okinawa governor Hirokazu Nakaima told reporters in Washington on Sunday, "We are so fed up with this because incidents like this have often occurred since before," and said, "I must let (Americans) know of such sentiment in Okinawa."
Agence France-Presse reports that about half of the 47,000 US military personnel based in Japan are stationed in Okinawa.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.