Protests in Japan after the rape of the American soldier

Published 2 July 2024 at 15.00

Domestic. Japanese on Okinawa protest again against the island's American military base – after a minor girl was raped by an American soldier. Asia Times reports.

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A US soldier, Brennon Washington, has been charged with kidnapping and raping a teenage girl on the Japanese island of Okinawa, which is occupied by the United States.

The incident, which occurred on December 24, 2023, has provoked great anger among the local population and again put the focus on the American military presence on the island.

Washington is said to have attracted took the girl with him in his car and raped her at his home. He was identified through surveillance cameras and has been released on bail but is being held at Kadena Air Force Base pending a July 12 arraignment.

The girl was under 16 years old. Japan recently raised the legal age for pants from 13 to 16.

Darkened for local government
Japan's Foreign Ministry submitted a formal complaint to US Ambassador Rahm Emanuel on March 27, but Okinawa's The prefecture board did not become aware of the incident until June 25, when the media also began to report on the matter.

The local Okinawan newspapers expressed grief over the rape, comparing it to similar incidents in the past. The Okinawa Times laments “the reality that one cannot safely walk in a private area even 72 years after the Battle of Okinawa”.

Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki says the rape brought “a significant level of distrust” .

Suzuyo Takazato, founder of an organization against military violence against women in Okinawa, states that statistics show that about 120 rapes have been committed by US military personnel in Okinawa since 1972. However, she counters that this is only “the peak of an iceberg” as most rapes go unreported.

A notable case occurred in 2016, when 32-year-old African-American Kenneth Shinzato, who was a civilian employee at the US military base, assaulted a Japanese woman who was walking. The woman was raped and murdered.

The most notable incident took place in 1995, when three American soldiers brutally gang-raped a 12-year-old girl. At the same time, information abounds that sexual crimes have been hushed up and the perpetrators have escaped punishment due to special legal agreements between the US and Japan.