Japan's Okinawa demands US rein in troops after alleged rape

[ZombieHorde]

NAHA, Japan (AFP) — Japan's southern island of Okinawa on Thursday demanded the US military rein in the thousands of troops stationed there after an American Marine was arrested for allegedly raping a local girl.

The Okinawa assembly unanimously adopted a resolution urging the US military to improve ethical training for its forces after the alleged rape of the 14-year-old on Sunday.

"Okinawa prefecture has repeatedly demanded stricter discipline for US servicemen and action to prevent criminal offences, but still an incident like this happened. We feel fierce anger," said assembly member Seiichi Oyakawa, reading out the resolution.

"We demand the US government take effective and specific preventive actions that are clear to the eyes of the people of Okinawa, such as carrying out thorough human rights training for US soldiers," he said.

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Link:
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iYj41Nh7KqXcXgm4qgDUeLUZE4PA

[kdmorris]

1. My god....

So many people said that the rape and murder of Abeer (and her family) in Iraq was because of pressure on US troops in a war zone.

What the fuck is the excuse for this rape?

[laconicsax]

4. There isn't ever an excuse.

[kdmorris]

5. I know

I just couldn't think of anything else to say. I have daughters, aged 16, 18 and 20.

It was kind of horrifying to me, when my oldest daughter turned 12, to hear of rapes going on in Kosovo and realizing that my daughter, this girl that I raised, who loved animals and oldies music, was old enough to be raped.

My heart goes out to the family members of this girl. I can only imagine (having thankfully never had to deal with something so horrible) the pain they are going through.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Gee, Japan, all you really have to do is tell the US to get off of Okinawa. I just read that

we're not on any permanent bases in any country and only stay by invitation.

[reformedrethug]

6. If they ask the US to leave

they face two things. First thing is a big loss to their local economies, you would be surprised as to how much impact that one base has on the local economy. The hiring of locals on base to work in all areas of base function, many permanently stationed people there actually live off base and also most of the people stationed there shop off base for various items. I was there for 6 months and spent just about as much time OFF base as I did on. There are thousands of individuals on that base so why blanket them all with negativity because of one sick individual??

Secondly, one of the reasons China has been held somewhat in check IS the fact that we have so many bases on Mainland Japan and on Okinawa.

[sinkingfeeling]

7. Maybe, but there have been thousands of protesters wanting the base to leave over the years.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/072000-02.htm

"Despite calls for removal of the bases, Washington is unlikely to do so, arguing that their presence is essential for security in the Asia-Pacific. But the recent reduction of tension in the region, especially on the Korean peninsula, brings the issue into question as never before.

Kadena commander Smith said he felt Kadena would become more important in the years to come, but added: ``The number of troops in Japan is the most important question that Japan and the U.S. face over the next 50 years."

[reformedrethug]

8. There have been

thousands of protesters doing their thing all over the world.

What reduction of tension on the Korean peninsula? The only reduction I see is in the rhetoric but if you ask those there nothing has changed. Sorry but I am for keeping our troops on "The Rock" as its known to us who have been there, as well as on Mainland Japan and in Korea. Do we kick out a whole group of people here in the states just because of their own rapes somebody? No we dont, one asshole does not represent the rest of the body.

This kind of shit happens, what needs to be done is the individual needs to be charged, and if the evidence proves his guilt then he needs to spend some time in prison. Prosecute the guilty and not persecute the innocent.

[sinkingfeeling]

9. Oh well, I don't intend to be in the American Empire much longer, so paying the cost of

ruling the world won't be up to me, my child, nor grandchild.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

13. What about the part about more effective human rights training?

You're right that the sick individual who committed the rape must be punished. But this is not an isolated incident. It's happened before on Okinawa and also caused uproar in South Korea over rapes of underaged girls by U.S. soldiers stationed there. As someone who has served in these zones, do you feel that there is room for improvement in making U.S. military personnel a lot more sensitive to this situation and encourage the application of peer pressure by the honorable soldiers on others?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

16. Right, there was a case a couple of years ago in which THREE G.I.'s

raped a twelve-year-old.

It's not as if the military command there doesn't know that such a thing is possible.

[laconicsax]

3. Is it just me or does this seem to be a reoccurring event.

A soldier on Okinawa rapes a local girl, the Japanese government gets upset, nothing comes of it. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Truly disgusting.

[Romulox]

10. Here's a thought: Perhaps the US taxpayers shouldn't be paying to "defend" a wealthy country

60 years after the end of WWII? :think:

Time to bring our soldiers home from Japan, Germany, Korea...

[reformedrethug]

11. and do what with them?

Once we bring them home, what is your suggestion to do with them? Discharge them? Ok, fine, throw them out into an already bad job market thus creating even more joblessness. Keep them still in the military? Ok fine, then where will you house them? Reopen old bases? Build new housing?

See bringing them home does not solve anything, it just moves the problems and issues to another area.

[Romulox]

12. Nice. Perpetual war as a make-work program.

Are you sure you're on the right site? :shrug:

[reformedrethug]

14. That is not what I said

I simply posed a question as to what to do with the guys we bring home. Nowhere did I say anything about perpetual war.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

17. Put them to work rebuilding our infrastructure

The biggest reason that we "can't afford" to build and maintain infrastructure, fund health care, etc. is that the bulk of our income tax goes to a military budget that is larger than all the rest of the world's military budgets combined. See my sig line for a startling figure: If you pay $4000 or less in annual federal income tax, your income tax pays for less than one second of the illegal occupation of Iraq.

China's not going to go after Japan any time soon--they're totally enmeshed as trading partners. Besides, despite its "peace Constitution," Japan has a de facto military that is the "right" size in proportion to its population: it has both the tenth largest population and the tenth largest military.

[scarletwoman]

18. "...it just moves the problems and issues to another area." Well, since they are OUR people

then these "problems and issues" are most appropriately OUR problems and issues.

Our country has LOTS of problems and issues, and a great many of them are rooted in our militarism and imperialism. Sooner or later these will have to be dealt with, no matter what, or we will cease to exist as a democratic republic.

Globalization and the MIC are bleeding us dry. There has to be an end to this, and a massive refocusing on building up our domestic infrastructure and manufacturing base.

Put them to work rebuilding bridges and roads and building new energy generating infrastructure. Put them to work in re-opened manufacturing plants. Instead of exporting all our raw materials to low-wage countries, build up our own production of finished products from our vast natural resources.

It's a matter of changing priorities. And the current priorities BADLY need to be changed.

sw

[leftchick]

15. um, haven't they been "demanding" this for years?

me thinks their government raises false objections to appease their masses.