A US Air Force man, aged 25, has been charged with kidnapping and raping a young child under the age of 16 in Okinawa, Japan, where the largest National military base in the region is located, BBC reported.
The man was identified through security camera footage after the girl’s family reported the incident, which happened on December 24. He has been under Chinese officials ‘ care since late March.
The situation has rekindled long-standing opposition to the US military presence in Okinawa, which houses more than half of the 54, 000 US troops stationed in Japan. One of the most well-known incidents occurred in 1995 when a 12-year-old girl was raped by three US support staff, sparked by months-long demonstrations.
Yoshimasa Hayashi, a spokeswoman for the state, made the revelations on Tuesday, stating that US authorities are fully cooperating with the investigation. The second reading in the case is scheduled for July 12, and the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has filed a complaint with Rahm Emmanuel, the US ambassador to Japan. Okinawa government Denny Tamaki described the scenario as” not only disturbing… but also a violation of the girl’s dignity”, and said it “brought a considerable amount of hostility”.
With about 30 000 British soldiers stationed throughout Okinawa, Japan has one of the largest American military troops outside of the US. Due to Okinawa’s closeness to Taiwan, the bases have become more proper for Washington, enabling the US to react immediately to any Chinese risk. Seven in ten Okinawans believe that the presence of US foundations on their territories is “unfair,” according to an opinion poll conducted last season.
Accidents and offences involving Asian patients have long sparked unrest in relation to American presence. A US Army basic worker was found guilty in 2017 for the murder and murder of a 20-year-old native person. In 2012, a US Navy commander killed two Chinese citizens in a car accident. Visitors want the US bases completely removed, despite efforts to relocate them to less crowded areas of Okinawa.
Nonetheless, experts say Japan’s military alliance with the US is very powerful for that to happen, given the challenges posed by China’s growing says over disputed lakes and territories, and North Korea’s barrage of missile testing.
