The Okinawa prefectural government and Naha city received email threats against 32 U.S. military installations on Okinawa, Feb. 18, 2025. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Japanese police are investigating email threats that targeted 32 U.S. military installations on the island, warning of planned explosions unless a ransom is paid.

The threats were sent through the Okinawa prefectural and Naha city websites on Tuesday evening, according to spokesmen from both offices. The identical emails, written in Japanese, warned that U.S. military facilities would be bombed on Sunday and that “a large number of Americans” would be killed unless approximately $120,860 is transferred to multiple bank accounts.

A prefectural government spokesman declined by phone Thursday to identify who signed the emails.

The prefectural government and Naha city officials alerted the Okinawa Prefectural Police Department and the Okinawa Defense Bureau, an arm of Japan’s Ministry of Defense, which then informed U.S. military officials.

Kadena Air Base and Marine Corps Air Station Futenma were among the installations named in the threats, according to the prefectural government spokesman. However, officials declined to provide a full list of the targeted sites. The U.S. military operates 31 bases on Okinawa and shares another with Japan’s Self-Defense Forces.

Marine Corps Installations Pacific is aware of the threat and is working with Japanese authorities, spokesman 1st Lt. Grant Hoel said in an email Thursday.

“At this time, we do not perceive a credible threat” to U.S. personnel covered under the status of forces agreement, Hoel wrote, referring to the pact that governs the rights and responsibilities of U.S. military personnel and their families in Japan.

Navy installations on Okinawa did not receive any direct threats, spokeswoman Candice Barber wrote in an email Thursday.

The Air Force’s 18th Wing at Kadena acknowledged questions about the threat but did not immediately provide a response Thursday.

A spokesman for Okinawa Prefectural Police said authorities are considering whether to investigate the case as “forcible obstruction of business,” a criminal offense under Japan’s penal code.

“We will decide that after collecting and checking all of the evidence,” he said.

A spokesman for the Okinawa Defense Bureau declined to comment, citing police concerns over potential copycat incidents.

Some government spokespeople in Japan may speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.