Photo/Illutration High school students participate in the protest on Jan. 22 in Naha. They said they happened upon the rally on their way home from school and joined in because they thought they could also become victims. (Satsuki Tanahashi)

NAHA--An Okinawan women's group staged a large protest rally in front of the Okinawa prefectural government building here on Jan. 22 against a recent series of sex crimes committed by U.S. military personnel.

According to the organizer, about 250 people participated in the rally, which was held in response to a case where a Marine in his 30s was referred to prosecutors on suspicion of non-consensual sexual intercourse resulting in injury on Jan. 8.

The protesters demanded “no tolerance of sexual violence” and voiced messages to the victims such as, “You are not alone.”

The women’s group that organized the rally held a conference of Okinawa residents in Okinawa on Dec. 22. The women’s group said about 2,500 people were in attendance. 

Junko Iraha, chairperson of the women’s group, said that she visited the central government after the conference to urge overhauling the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between Japan and the United States and other measures.

However, Iraha said she felt that the visit was just a wasted effort.

“The discipline system has not been effective,” Iraha said at the rally, criticizing the Liberty Policy, which regulates the off-base behavior of U.S. service members stationed in Japan including outings and drinking.

A statement protesting the latest incident and urging effective measures to prevent a recurrence was also read out at the rally.

Since June of last year, incidents of sexual violence by U.S. service members have been reported in succession in Okinawa. Okinawa prefectural police investigated four cases last year (one of the four was not prosecuted), the highest number in the past 10 years.

Related News