Third case this year of US soldier suspected of sexual abuse on Okinawa

The Okinawa Prefectural Assembly Building in Naha, Okinawa, Japan, on July 12, 2024. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A U.S. Marine is suspected of sexually assaulting and injuring a woman on Okinawa in June, Okinawa Prefecture said. It is the third such case to come to light on the island this year.

Okinawa Prefectural Police informed the prefectural government on Thursday that they had forwarded a case involving an unidentified 20-year-old man to the Naha Prefectural Public Prosecutor’s Office that day, a spokeswoman for the prefecture’s Military Affairs Department said by telephone on Thursday.

The Marine is suspected of non-consensual sexual intercourse resulting in injury, the spokeswoman said. The Marine is not in Japanese custody, the police statement said, the spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman said police have not provided further information about the case.

A spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service said by telephone on Thursday that the Public Prosecution Service plans to release “something about the case,” but did not know when.

Some government officials in Japan are only allowed to speak to the media if they wish to remain anonymous.

In Japan, police refer cases of alleged criminal behavior to local prosecutors, who then file charges.

The III Marine Expeditionary Force is working on requests from Stars and Stripes for more information, 2nd Lt. Kelsey Enlow, a spokeswoman for Marine Corps Installations Pacific, said by phone Thursday.

The case follows charges against two U.S. service members on separate charges of sexual abuse and attempted sexual abuse that came to light last summer and sparked outrage on Okinawa.

Senior Airman Brennon RE Washington pleaded not guilty July 12 in Naha District Court to charges of kidnapping and sexually abusing a minor in December. Marine Lance Cpl. Jamel Clayton was charged in May with attempted sexual abuse of a woman in Yomitan.

These cases led to formal complaints from the prefecture to the U.S. Embassy, ​​the U.S. military, and the Japanese government, and calls for changes to the status-of-forces agreement for the U.S. military population in Japan.

The prefectural government, led by Governor Denny Tamaki, also complained that it was kept in the dark about the two indictments and other unrelated reports against soldiers who were not charged.

Japanese investigative authorities announced in July that they would share more information about criminal cases involving U.S. military personnel with local governments.

This case is the first to fall under that agreement.

“We believe the notification was made in accordance with the agreement,” the spokeswoman for the Department of Military Affairs said.

The commander of U.S. forces in Japan, Lt. Gen. Ricky Rupp, announced in July a “new forum for cooperation” with the Japanese and Okinawan governments and community members.

The Marine Corps has stepped up patrols of Okinawa’s popular nightlife spots and conducted alcohol testing at all establishments in Japan over the weekend to track nearly 100 percent of outgoing alcoholics in response to the incidents.

Rupp, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and III MEF commander Lt. Gen. Roger Turner have called for a consistent freedom of movement policy for all U.S. troops in Japan. But so far, no changes have been announced.