"That's the price you pay for our protection." - A high-ranking US official referring to the rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan girl by three American soldiers.
by Dex A. Eastman
from PRESSTV
In general, it is safe to say that US presence in foreign countries has caused many hardships for the world. Crimes committed by US servicemen on the Japanese island of Okinawa and the other unfortunate events that have occurred there may shed more light on the resentment host countries have over Washington SOFAs.
In Okinawa, the fear of possible accidents haunts locals as the island sees numerous helicopter crashes and aircraft malfunctions -- sometimes on a daily basis.
As far as crime is concerned, US servicemen stationed on the island have committed crimes that would definitely be considered shocking even in America -- which has the highest overall crime rate in the world.
In February, Japanese police arrested a US Marine over the rape of a 14-year-old girl.
The case echoes that of the 1995 gang rape of a 12-year-old girl by three US soldiers, after which 85,000 people took to the streets in protest to the US base on the island.
In the opinion of many Japanese citizens living in Okinawa, the United States used the SOFA to "shield" US service members who committed crimes against Japanese citizens from the Japanese criminal justice system.
"This has been going on since the US began occupying our island decades ago," says Chie Miyagi, a schoolteacher and activist. "The US military apologizes and promises us that it won't happen again, but it always does. The government and the rest of Japan don't really care about how we feel. If it was their daughters who were being raped, I'm sure they would react differently."
"When they arrive here they have no idea what this place is like, about its tragic history," Guardian quoted Suzuyo Takazato, head of a women's group that monitors crimes by US soldiers in Okinawa, as saying. "We live in fear of what they will do next. When they are caught, they get off with light sentences. The message seems to be: if you want to rape a girl, do it in Japan."
While US crimes in Okinawa have been many, the island accounts for a mere 1% of Japan's total area and is home to about 75% of American bases in Japan and half its 50,000 troops. US military facilities take up a fifth of the island.
Efforts to promote exchange between the islanders and their unwanted American military guests have been marred because of US crimes and accidents as well as air pollution and noise caused by the US presence.
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