Photo/Illutration The Naha District Public Prosecutors Office building (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

NAHA--Okinawa prosecutors have charged a U.S. serviceman over the suspected kidnapping and sexual misconduct committed against an underage girl around Christmas last year, sources said June 25.

According to the indictment and other sources, Brennon R. E. Washington, a 25-year-old member of the U.S. Air Force, approached the minor in a park in the central part of Okinawa’s main island on the night of Dec. 24, 2023.

He told her, “It’s cold, so why don’t we talk inside the car,” according to the indictment.

He then drove her to his home and engaged in nonconsensual sexual acts with the girl, knowing she was under 16, the age of consent in Japan, according to the indictment.

According to investigative sources, a person related to the minor called police immediately after finding that the girl had been victimized.

Prefectural police identified Washington from security camera footage and asked the U.S. military about him. He was off-duty at the time, the sources said.

The Naha Public Prosecutors Office has not disclosed whether he has admitted to or denied the charges.

Specifically, he was indicted on charges of “nonconsensual sexual intercourse” and “indecent kidnapping.”

The Kadena Police Station of the Okinawa prefectural police sent papers on Washington to the prosecutors office on March 11.

The U.S. military handed him over to Japanese authorities on March 27.

“It is extremely regrettable that such an incident has occurred,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a news conference on June 25.

He also revealed that on March 27, Masataka Okano, a vice minister at the Foreign Ministry, mentioned the case to U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and asked him to thoroughly enforce discipline among U.S. forces and to prevent a recurrence.

“I understand that the U.S. side is also taking this very seriously and is cooperating with the investigation,” Hayashi said.

He stressed that “incidents and accidents involving U.S. military personnel cause great concern to local residents and must not be allowed to happen.”

“We will continue to request the U.S. side to prevent such incidents and accidents at every opportunity,” Hayashi added.

(This article was written by Satsuki Tanahashi and Shohei Sasagawa.)

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