The people of Okinawa were recently reminded once again of the horrors of foreign military occupation. This is a subject with which Southerners are quite familiar. Tragically, many Southern women were violated by United States’ soldiers. Yuka Hayshi reports for The Wall Street Journal:
U.S. and Japanese officials moved swiftly to limit potential damage to their bilateral defense relations Wednesday after two U.S. Navy sailors were arrested on suspicion of raping a local woman.
Japanese police arrested the two sailors after a 27-year-old Okinawan woman reported being attacked early Tuesday in a parking lot near her home as she returned from work. She told police the assault lasted for 45 minutes, during which she suffered a minor neck injury.
…Local opposition to the U.S. military presence has strengthened again in recent months amid the deployment of a new generation of Marines air transporter known as the Osprey. Huge rallies have taken place on Okinawa recently, including one in September that attracted tens of thousands of participants. Among incidents sparking local anger in recent years are the assault of a middle school girl in 2008 and an attack on a local woman by a junior Marine officer in August this year.
Incidents like this of US soldiers engaging in criminal acts on Okinawa are unfortunately not uncommon.
Also see: US Soldiers Arrested for Gang-raping Japanese Woman Near Okinawa Base and Japanese Delegation Wants US Out of Okinama
I note that even the monks are against it. Imperialism is never popular.
While I’m 100% in favor of getting out of Japan and Japanese territories, and approve of their having their own military, I’m not sure I agree with the idea that as a general rule our military personnel treat locals poorly. I’m not denying a crime was committed here, and I fully believe that the due punishment should be given to the perpetrator, I just don’t think that it’s fair to say that the locals are being abused by the United States military. I would also point out that many locals get a economic benefit from the presence of the military base.
29thtn, it’s true that many locals do get an economic benefit from US military bases. However, there is a long list of rapes and other criminal activity by US soldiers on Okinawa. I linked to a Wiki page documenting some of them. However, I will re-word the article to make it less of a sweeping statement.
but but but, but we must preserve the EMPIRE!
We MUST stay over there, we just must!
We must be their policemen and keep the big bad commies away!
We must fight for their DEMOCRACY, for them to remain free!
And the dumb American people believes this!
Michael– Deo Vindicabamur
Not to mention the fact that Now, being accompanied by UN Troops that do such things on a Regular basis, even if not present there, the US Soldier has been endoctrinated in the Fine Art of Torture and Abuse of Civilians not of American Heiritage, and most likely told by their Supieriors that it was OK, as long as no Complaints come across his desk.
I’m just glad I’m not in the Service any longer. I would be dead now because If I saw such things, I would either make a formal complaint and most likely be killed for it, or find a way to FRAG the guy and say it was Friendly Fire.