Japanese Media: 101 Criminal Cases Involving U.S. Military Personnel in Okinawa by 2025
According to local media in Okinawa (note: historical Ryukyu Kingdom), based on data from the Okinawa Prefectural Police, there were 101 criminal cases involving U.S. military personnel and their family members in 2025—the first time since 2003 (112 cases) that the number has exceeded 100.
Last year, local police began conducting joint patrols with military police from stationed U.S. forces, but the effectiveness remains unclear.
A U.S. Air Force staff sergeant stationed at Kadena Air Base was sentenced to five years in prison in early January this year for kidnapping, indecent assault, and non-consensual sexual acts committed in December 2023 against an unidentified minor under the age of 16.
A senior private first class from the U.S. Marine Corps stationed in Okinawa was sentenced to seven years in prison in March this year for attempted rape and causing injury to a woman in her twenties in May 2024.
A 28-year-old U.S. Marine Corps private first class was charged with non-consensual sexual acts and assault after allegedly sexually assaulting a Japanese woman in a restroom at a U.S. military base last March, strangling her and injuring another woman who arrived at the scene.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1866036387898377/
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