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U.S. Airman Is Suspected of Punching Japanese Boy, Police Say U.S. Airman Is Suspected of Punching Japanese Boy, Police Say
(about 2 hours later)
TOKYO — Japanese leaders reacted angrily Friday after the police on Okinawa said a United States Air Force serviceman was suspected of breaking into an apartment while drunk and punching a schoolboy, just weeks after two American sailors are alleged to have raped a woman on the same island. TOKYO — Japanese leaders reacted angrily on Friday after the police on Okinawa said an American Air Force serviceman was suspected of breaking into an apartment while drunk and punching a schoolboy, just weeks after two American sailors were accused of raping a woman on the same island.
The trespassing and assault are alleged to have taken place early Friday morning, in apparent violation of a curfew imposed just last month by the United States military on all of its roughly 50,000 military personnel in Japan following the suspected rape. The police did not release the name of the 24-year-old airman, who was said to have been hospitalized after falling to the ground while trying to escape through a third-story window. The trespassing and assault took place early Friday morning, the police said. The airman was apparently in violation of a curfew imposed just last month by the American military on all of its roughly 50,000 military personnel in Japan following the rape accusation. The police did not release the name of the 24-year-old airman, who was hospitalized after falling to the ground from a third-story window.
The back-to-back incidents have stirred outrage on Okinawa, the southern Japanese island that hosts three-quarters of the American bases in Japan. The incidents also threaten to complicate ties between the United States and its closest Asian ally at a time when both nations are trying to work together to face a growing challenge from China. The back-to-back episodes have stirred outrage on Okinawa, the southern Japanese island that hosts three-quarters of the American bases in Japan. The episodes also threaten to complicate ties between the United States and its closest Asian ally at a time when both nations are trying to work together to face a growing challenge from China.
Japan’s foreign minister, Koichiro Gemba, called the latest incident “outrageous” and said hitting a boy was “completely unforgivable.” Japan’s foreign minister, Koichiro Gemba, called the latest episode “outrageous” and said hitting a boy was “completely unforgivable.”
The incidents have added to Okinawa’s increasingly vocal opposition to what many islanders see as an oversized American base footprint. Japanese officials fear Okinawan anger could grow strong enough to disrupt their nation’s overall security alliance with the United States, on which Japan has relied for its defense since the end of World War II. The episodes have added to Okinawa’s increasingly vocal opposition to what many islanders see as an oversized American base. Japanese officials fear Okinawan anger could grow strong enough to disrupt their nation’s overall security alliance with the United States, on which Japan has relied for its defense since the end of World War II.
Okinawan opposition has already blocked a 16-year-old deal to relocate a United States Marine Corps air field and forced the Marines to place restrictions on flights by their newest aircraft, the tilt-rotor Osprey. Japanese leaders have been trying to convince Okinawans that they are working to lighten the island’s base burden, while also reassuring the Americans that they remain committed alliance partners.Okinawan opposition has already blocked a 16-year-old deal to relocate a United States Marine Corps air field and forced the Marines to place restrictions on flights by their newest aircraft, the tilt-rotor Osprey. Japanese leaders have been trying to convince Okinawans that they are working to lighten the island’s base burden, while also reassuring the Americans that they remain committed alliance partners.
The governor of Okinawa, Hirokazu Nakaima, warned that the actions by American servicemen threatened the entire United States-Japan alliance.The governor of Okinawa, Hirokazu Nakaima, warned that the actions by American servicemen threatened the entire United States-Japan alliance.
“You can only conclude that they are fracturing the alliance,” Mr. Nakaima was quoted as saying by the daily Asahi Shimbun.“You can only conclude that they are fracturing the alliance,” Mr. Nakaima was quoted as saying by the daily Asahi Shimbun.
United States officials said they would cooperate with the investigation. American officials said they would cooperate with the investigation.
“We are very upset, and we pledge complete cooperation with the government of Japan in getting to the bottom of this, and preventing future occurrences in the future,” the United States ambassador to Japan, John V. Roos, said in a statement. “We are very upset, and we pledge complete cooperation with the government of Japan in getting to the bottom of this, and preventing future occurrences,” the American ambassador to Japan, John V. Roos, said in a statement.
Crimes by American military personnel are an emotional issue on Okinawa, especially since the 1995 rape of a schoolgirl by three servicemen. They top a list of Okinawan complaints about the bases that also include noise, risk of accidents and pollution. Crimes by American military personnel are an emotional issue on Okinawa, especially since the 1995 rape of a schoolgirl by three servicemen. They top a list of Okinawan complaints about the bases that also includes noise, risk of accidents and pollution.
The police said the American airman was suspected of entering the apartment at about 1 a.m. Friday as two schoolboys inside were sleeping. The American allegedly woke them up and punched one of them, aged 13, in the face before kicking in a television set and then trying to flee through the window, the police said. The police said the American airman was suspected of entering the apartment at about 1 a.m. Friday as two schoolboys inside were sleeping. The American woke them up and punched one of them, age 13, in the face, the police said, before kicking in a television set and then trying to flee through the third-story window.
They said the American had apparently been drinking at a bar on the ground floor of the same building, where he began shouting and acting violently before going upstairs to the apartment. Police said the door of the apartment, which was rented by a 41-year-old woman, was unlocked, as is still common in parts of low-crime Japan. They said the American had apparently been drinking at a bar on the ground floor of the same building, where he began shouting and acting violently before going upstairs to the apartment. The police said the door of the apartment, which was rented by a 41-year-old woman, was unlocked, as is still common in parts of low-crime Japan.