Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News
Showing posts with label US forces in Okinawa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label US forces in Okinawa. Show all posts

Sunday, November 19, 2017

US military in Japan under alcohol ban after accident


by Xian Wan and Biodun Iginla, France24, Tokyo


    © AFP/File | The US has several military bases in Japan, but there has been longstanding local opposition to the American military presence on Okinawa

    TOKYO - 
    US Forces in Japan banned all personnel from consuming alcohol after a drink-driving accident on the island of Okinawa where anti-base sentiment runs high.
    A US Marine crashed his vehicle into a mini-truck at an intersection on Sunday, killing the other driver, 61.
    The 21-year-old, whose breath test showed an alcohol level three times the legal limit, was arrested and charged with negligent driving resulting in death, police said.
    All US servicemen stationed in Japan are now banned from drinking, both on and off base, the US Forces in Japan said in a statement.
    In Okinawa, personnel are also restricted to base or to their residences.
    "When our service members fail to live up to the high standards we set for them, it damages the bonds between bases and local communities and makes it harder for us to accomplish our mission," the statement said.
    Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Tokyo made an immediate complaint about the case to the US side, demanding the US military enforce strict discipline and take preventive steps.
    "It is extremely regrettable that this accident happened even though the Japanese government has repeatedly asked them for the thorough implementation of preventive measures and enforcement of disciplines," Suga told reporters.
    The US has several military bases in Japan and stations about 47,000 troops in the country as part of a joint security treaty.
    But crimes by US personnel have seen relations with locals strained.
    In the most recent case, a former US Marine employed at the US Air Force's sprawling Kadena Air Base on Okinawa was charged with the murder of a 20-year-old woman last year.
    The incident intensified longstanding local opposition to the American military presence on the island.
    Commanders across Japan will immediately lead mandatory training to address responsible alcohol use, risk management and acceptable behavior, the US statement added.
    Okinawa accounts for nearly 75 percent of land allotted for US bases in Japan, despite being only a fraction of the country's total area.

    Saturday, June 18, 2016

    Protesters gather for anti-US military rally in Okinawa


    • 30 minutes ago
    •  
    • From the sectionAsia
    People hold placards as they protest against the presence of US bases on Okinawa prefecture on 17 JuneImage copyrightAFP
    Image captionDemonstration was held on Friday against the US military presence on the island

    by Coco Jiang and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Tokyo
    Crowds are gathering on the Japanese island of Okinawa to protest against the heavy US military presence there.
    Demonstrators are angry after a former US Marine employed as a civilian worker was arrested over the rape and murder of a local 20-year-old woman.
    The case has intensified longstanding opposition to the military bases, spurring calls for US military personnel to be moved off the island.
    Okinawa hosts 26,000 US military personnel.
    They work and live on bases that cover a fifth of the island and are a key part of the US-Japan security alliance.
    View of the US Futenma base in Okinawa (file image)Image copyrightAP
    Image captionThe US Futenma airbase is located in a densely populated sarea
    The protesters will rally in the prefectural capital Naha, with a simultaneous gathering due to happen outside parliament in Tokyo in sympathy.
    Okinawa's Governor Takeshi Onaga is expected to attend the Naha rally.
    The demonstrators will also call for the scrapping of plans by Washington and Tokyo to move a major US Marine facility in the centre of the island to a more remote area.
    But Mr Onaga and residents want the Futenma base to be removed entirely.
    Graphic
    The decision to move the facility was sparked by the rape of a 12-year-old Japanese girl by three US servicemen in 1995.
    But the plan has been delayed by local opposition and legal manoeuvring.
    Okinawa was under US occupation for 27 years, following World War Two.

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