Marine Corps Cpl. Priya Hasham of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit conducts a breath test at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, July 19, 2024. (Megan Roses/U.S. Marine Corps)
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — The Marine Corps will continue outgoing weekend sobriety checks at all its Japan installations indefinitely as the military continues to respond to discontent on Okinawa over recent alleged sexual crimes.
Increased checks and off-base courtesy patrols, which began July 12-13 and continued July 19-20, will continue each Friday and Saturday “until we are told otherwise,” Marine Corps Installations Pacific spokeswoman 2nd Lt. Kelsey Enlow said in an email Thursday.
The prospect of dual patrols with Okinawa police received a lukewarm response Thursday from the head of the prefectural police Criminal Affairs Division, who said he was unaware of any plans to field such teams. He also appeared skeptical of U.S. military police exercising authority beyond their gates.
Sobriety checks begin at 8 p.m. Friday and continue through 11:59 p.m. Saturday and include 100% Breathalyzer tests for everyone exiting Marine bases between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.
During the day, breath tests may be randomized if 10 or more cars are in line to exit, Enlow wrote in an email Friday. Average wait times at busy gates were not available Friday, she said.
However, exiting some installations took up to an hour July 12-13, Capt. Brett Dornhege-Lazaroff, another spokesman for the installations command, said July 19.
“Several” people with blood-alcohol content over Japan’s 0.03% legal limit were stopped that weekend, he said. The status of those individuals and the results of other weekend checks was not available Friday.
“We have seen that these checks and patrols have been effective, but I do not have any numbers regarding DUIs or specific incidents,” Enlow wrote.
Air Force Lt. Gen. Ricky Rupp, commander of U.S. Forces Japan, meets with senior leaders at Camp Foster, Okinawa, July 25, 2024. (Savannah Mesimer/U.S. Marine Corps)
U.S. Forces Japan commander Lt. Gen. Ricky Rupp called for dual patrols with Okinawan police in a statement posted online Monday. But Hitoshi Asato, director of the Okinawa Prefectural Police Criminal Affairs Division, said Thursday that he “was not aware” of the proposal before Rupp’s statement.
“If the U.S. military were to exercise the authority of military police beyond the base, it could lead to issues given the sentiments of the local population,” Asato said during a special committee meeting of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly. “Bearing this in mind, I acknowledge that the prefectural police hold jurisdiction over security matters outside the base.”
He urged caution about any agreement to restart joint patrols, which were last conducted on Okinawa in 1974, he said.
“If authorities from Japan and the U.S. are present at a crime scene, generally, the U.S. side will detain the suspect,” he added.
Senior Airman Brennon R.E. Washington pleaded not guilty July 12 in Naha District Court to charges of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a minor in December. Marine Lance Cpl. Jamel Clayton was charged in May with attempting to sexually assault a woman in Yomitan village.
The indictments led Okinawa prefecture to deliver formal complaints to the U.S. Embassy and the Japanese government calling for changes to the status of forces agreement for U.S. troops on the island. The governors of 15 Japanese prefectures where U.S. military bases are located also filed petitions Wednesday with Japan’s Defense and Foreign Affairs ministries requesting SOFA changes.
Rupp in his statement announced a “new forum of cooperation” with the Japanese and Okinawan governments and community members to address alleged misconduct. He also promised further changes to the off-duty liberty policy for all service members in Japan.
He held several meetings with commanders on Okinawa during a visit Tuesday through Thursday, according to posts on USFJ social media accounts.
Lt. Gen. Rupp was in Okinawa for the week and met with U.S. service members at all levels, to include the senior military component representatives,” USFJ spokeswoman Lt. Col. Mindy Yu said by email Friday. “Many topics were discussed during various meetings, to include the importance of being good ambassadors to our Japanese partners. As discussions about policy are ongoing, Lt. Gen. Rupp reaffirmed his expectations and solicited feedback from commanders.”
