Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki speaks to reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
TOKYO — Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki announced Wednesday he’s traveling soon to the United States to lobby Cabinet officials, Congress and the American public to reduce the U.S. military footprint in his prefecture and curb troop misconduct.
The governor, speaking Wednesday at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo, appealed publicly for a reduction in the U.S. military presence in Okinawa prefecture.
“The existence of these vast U.S. military facilities and related areas is a major impediment to the promotion of local industrial development and also improving of the living environment in Okinawa,” he said.
Tamaki addressed alleged sexual assaults on Okinawa before about 30 reporters at the club and another 60 watching via livestream.
“There is no end to the various damages which are caused by the presence of the bases,” he said. “The people of Okinawa continue to bear a heavy burden in relation to these bases.”
Tamaki is planning to visit the U.S. next month to appeal directly to the U.S. government, including the Departments of Defense and State, members of Congress and the U.S. public.
“I do believe that the U.S. and Japan has contributed to the maintenance of peace and stability in Japan and East Asia,” he said.
But, he added, “U.S. military forces in Japan are excessively concentrated in Okinawa prefecture, and we feel the necessity of the further reversion and reduction of the U.S. military bases on Okinawa.”
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki speaks to reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
Okinawa hosts the bulk of U.S. military personnel in Japan, about 30,000 active-duty service members, most of them Marines, plus another 50,000 civilian employees and family members.
Between 1972, when Okinawa reverted from U.S. to Japanese control, and 2023, authorities on Okinawa have arrested 6,235 U.S. military or affiliated personnel for alleged criminal offenses, Tamaki said.
“Of these, 586 were cases of violent offences such as murder or forcible sexual intercourse or rape, and 80 cases were sexual related offenses such as indecent assault,” he said.
Two recent cases of sexual assault and attempted sexual assault have brought the problem again to public attention.
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.
“In regard to these kinds of incidents and process, there are two main problems as we see,” Tamaki said.
One problem is the alleged crimes; the other is that law enforcement and the Japanese government did not apprise the prefecture until the defendants were scheduled for court appearances, in Washington’s case almost three months after his indictment, Tamaki said.
Following a complaint from the prefecture, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi announced July 5 that Japan’s investigative authorities have begun sharing information about cases with Okinawa as much as possible.
“For Okinawa prefecture, we consider it necessary to share information not just to the extent possible, but rather to share this information promptly after the incident,” Tamaki said.
U.S. Forces Japan commander Lt. Gen. Ricky Rupp on July 22 announced a “new forum of cooperation” with the Japanese and Okinawan governments and community members to address alleged misconduct.
But Tamaki expressed doubt about the proposal. A similar effort, the Cooperative Working Team for the prevention of incidents and accidents by U.S. military and civilian personnel, was established in 2000, he said.
“However, meetings of this CWT have not been held since the year 2017,” he said. “Therefore, at every opportunity we as Okinawa prefecture have been requesting both the Japanese and U.S. governments to hold the CWT as soon as possible.”
Tamaki called for specific details on this new forum, including its members and structure, and coordination with outside organizations “at the earliest possible date.”
Military force alone is not sufficient to ensure peace and stability in the region and to achieve sustainable development on Okinawa, according to the governor.
“I believe it is more necessary than ever before to ease tensions and build confidence through peaceful diplomacy and dialogue,” he said.
