Japanese, American and United Nations flags flap in the breeze at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, April 14, 2023. (Stars and Stripes)
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A Japanese yachtsman was taken into custody this week after landing at White Beach Naval Facility, according to the Navy and Japan’s coast guard.
U.S. military police “arrested a Japanese man who landed within the premises of White Beach on a yacht” and reported it to the coast guard at 1:25 p.m. Tuesday, a coast guard news release said. The man was handed over to the coast guard at 3:13 p.m., according to the release.
A spokeswoman for Fleet Activities Okinawa said the man sailed a “leisure vessel” into restricted waters near White Beach. The coast guard towed the vessel away, according to an email from spokeswoman Candice Barber.
“U.S. Security forces responded, and at no point was the security or protection of the base in question,” she wrote. “As a reminder to the public, access to a U.S. Navy installation is restricted to authorized personnel.”
The man identified himself as Minoru Tomono, 77, of Saitama prefecture, just north of Tokyo. He carried no identification and coast guard officials could not immediately confirm his identity, a coast guard spokesman said by phone Wednesday. Some government officials in Japan are required to speak to the media on condition of anonymity.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing, the spokesman said.
“We only know that he departed from Yonabaru Marina,” he said. Yonabaru is approximately 12 miles southwest of White Beach across the open water.
The man remains in custody at the Nakagusuku Coast Guard Office. Japan’s coast guard will either release him or forward his case to prosecutors within 48 hours of the arrest, the spokesman said.
If convicted of an offense, the man could face imprisonment for up to a year or a fine of up to 2,000 yen, or $12.67, according to the release.
White Beach Naval Facility, near the tip of Katsuren Peninsula, is used as a staging ground for U.S. Marines and their equipment on Okinawa, according to the Navy Region Japan website.
