Japanese prosecutors on the island of Okinawa have charged a 25-year old U.S. Air Force Member with kidnapping and sexually assault of a teenage girl back in December.
According to the indictment, dated March 27, Brennon Washington invited the girl to speak with him at his car in a park on December 24th, and drove to his house to cook and watch movies, before sexually assaulting her. According to Kyodo News and investigators, Washington was aware of the fact that the girl was under 16, and that Washington and the girl did not know each other.
A person the girl knew reported the incident the day of, according to local police. The Japanese Foreign Ministry became aware of the charges in late March, and Washington was placed in custody by Japanese authorities, after he was identified via security camera footage.
A complaint was lodged with the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, where the Japanese government expressed regret, and called for a stronger oversight of behavior of military personnel, as reported by CBS News. According to Kyodo News, The Okinawan prefectural government was unaware of the incident until an inquiry was made public on Tuesday.
Dennis Tamaki, the Governor of Okinawa, told Kyodo News that the development has “brought a significant level of distrust” to relations, and said the allegations are “not just disturbing to residents but also a violation of the girl’s dignity”.
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Okinawa’s Vice Governor Takekuni Ikeda met with Brigadier General Nicholas Evans, commander of the 18th Wing at the Kadena Air Base, and other U.S. Officials on Thursday, according to NHK World-Japan, where Evans said “I’m deeply concerned by the severity of this allegation, and I regret any anxiety this has caused”, and said that the U.S. military will cooperate with local authorities and the legal process in this investigation, as well as seeking an apology and compensation for the victim.
Ikeda said that “this is a serious and vicious incident that tramples on the rights of women, and is unforgivable”, and called out the fact that the Okinawan government was not notified about the indictment made in March until Tuesday. Ikeda demanded stricter curfew measures, a management of service personnel and a compilation and disclosure of preventative measures.
Japanese politician Keiko Itokazu criticized the Japanese and U.S. governments and U.S. forces in Okinawa, in the same article by NHK-World Japan. She said that they have done “nothing about the actual situation, where the lives and livelihoods of the people in the prefecture are threatened by such serious and vicious crimes.”, despite promises to ease the burden of bases.
Government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi told local reporters that “We will continue to request the US side to prevent such incidents at every opportunity”, according to multiple sources.
While Okinawa accounts for 0.6% of Japan’s land mass, it hosts 70% of all the U.S. military bases and facilities in the country, home to half of the 54,000 US soldiers serving in Japan. This military presence is a legacy of World War II, and current political and military alliances.
A number of issues and incidents related to the presence of U.S. military and U.S. military personnel have long angered Okinawans, especially crimes affecting Okinawan and Japanese civilians. The current case comes almost 30 years after a 12-year-old Okinawan schoolgirl was raped by three U.S. servicemen in 1995, which sparked widespread outrage and protest.
In 2013, two U.S. Navy sailors were imprisoned over the rape of an Okinawan woman, leading to a curfew for all U.S. troops stationed in Japan. The conviction of a U.S. Army base worker in 2017 over the rape and murder of a 20-year-old Okinawan woman also saw massive outcry and protests.
Outside of Okinawa, a U.S. Navy officer killed two Japanese civilians in a car accident during a trip to Mt. Fuji in 2012.
According to an opinion poll last year, seven out of 10 Okinawans felt like the concentration of U.S. bases on their island was “unfair”, with the same poll showing young people in Japan are becoming more opposed to U.S. bases as well. A nationwide NHK poll in 2022 found that 80% of Japanese say that the current distribution of U.S. soldiers in Japan feels “wrong” or “somewhat wrong”.
On Thursday, according to NHK-World Japan, representatives from six civic groups in Okinawa have called for the removal of all existing US bases and a ban on building new ones. The representatives also plan on asking Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden to address the issue of U.S. bases in Okinawa and to take action against crime committed by U.S. military personnel and civilian employees.
However, according to the BBC, some experts say that the military alliance between Japan and the United States is too strong for these changes to happen, especially with concerns over North Korea’s weapons and missile tests, straining relations between the U.S. and China, and China’s claims over disputed islands and waters with other nations, and it’s stance on Taiwan’s status.
The case’s first hearing is set for July 12. According to NHK-World Japan, nether prosecutors of police have revealed whether Washington has admitted to the allegations.
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