TOKYO, Nov 2, (Net) : Japan urged the United States to enforce
discipline among its troops after a Marine was arrested on suspicion of drink
driving during a curfew in the wake of another serviceman’s arrest on a
murder charge, the defence minister said on Monday.
US forces on the Japanese island of Okinawa were barred from drinking alcohol
for two days early last month and faced a 30-day curfew after the murder of a
woman allegedly committed by an American Marine.
The case has triggered outrage in Japan and reignited controversy over the
heavy US military presence on the southern island.
A second Marine had been arrested over allegations he drove under the
influence of alcohol, Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said.
The arrest took place on Saturday, according to media reports.
“We requested that the US side strictly enforce discipline among its
personnel, implement effective measures to prevent a recurrence, and ensure
full compliance with the nighttime curfew,” Koizumi told reporters.
“We want them to take (the incident) seriously,” he added.
The curfew imposed last month required all troops to be back on base or at
“an off-base domicile” from midnight to 5:00 am.
Last week, Japanese prosecutors indicted the Marine accused of murdering a
woman in Okinawa.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told lawmakers days after the woman’s death
that the government had lodged a strong protest with the United States,
urging their “full cooperation with the investigation” and “strict discipline
among US military personnel”.
The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported that, according to the indictment
document, the 20-year-old suspect allegedly strangled the woman from Naha in
a hotel with a telephone cord on October 3.
The United States has around 54,000 military personnel stationed in Japan,
mostly on Okinawa.
Crimes committed by US personnel have been a thorn in relations between the
close security allies.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi has previously said that officials were
reviewing the off-base code of conduct for US troops in Japan following the
alleged killing.
The existing policy, updated in 2024 following a string of sexual assaults by
US military personnel in Okinawa, includes a ban on servicemembers drinking
in public off base between 1:00 am and 5:00 am or going to bars during those
hours.
