Photo/Illutration Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki, right, hands a letter of protest to Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa on July 3 in Tokyo regarding suspected sexual assault cases by U.S. servicemen. (Shino Matsuyama)

At least five sexual assault cases involving U.S. military or civilian personnel have occurred in prefectures other than Okinawa since 2021 that were not reported to local governments.

The incidents happened in Aomori, Kanagawa and Yamaguchi, according to police in those prefectures.

They have only now come to light following an outcry over revelations of unreported cases in Okinawa that the government in Tokyo knew about but did not publicize.

Communication channels between the central government and the U.S. side did not function in any of the five cases, either.

In Kanagawa Prefecture, home to numerous U.S. military facilities, a U.S. serviceman was referred to prosecutors in 2022 on a charge of forcible sexual intercourse resulting in bodily injury.

Kanagawa prefectural police arrested a civilian worker for the U.S. military earlier this year for allegedly committing an act of indecency without consent.

In Yamaguchi Prefecture, site of the Marine Corpse Air Station Iwakuni, an individual with ties to the U.S. military was referred to prosecutors in 2022 on a charge of indecent assault.

In the northern prefecture of Aomori, site of Misawa Air Base, two individuals with ties to the U.S. military were referred to prosecutors in 2021 and 2022 on suspicion of rape and forcible indecency, respectively.

In each of the five cases, prefectural police did not inform the prefectural government, citing “consideration for the privacy of the victims.”

Of the five cases, three that occurred in Kanagawa and Yamaguchi prefectures were subsequently dropped, prefectural police said.

Under a 1997 agreement, information about U.S. military-related incidents and accidents is supposed to be channeled through central and local government agencies so that it is “immediately provided to the local community” concerned. 

However, a series of undisclosed incidents uncovered in Okinawa Prefecture since last month shows that this system did not function properly.

Earlier this month, the central government formally announced it will share information with Okinawa Prefecture in the future about sex crimes involving U.S. service personnel, even if they are not publicized by investigative authorities.

It is not just Okinawa that has been kept out of the loop. In each of the five cases, too, there was no communication from government agencies to local governments.

A representative of the Yamaguchi prefectural government’s Iwakuni Base response office said, “We want to gather information on what happens in prefectures other than Okinawa, such as how information on U.S. military incidents should be communicated.”

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