Word: okinawa
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...current furor will lead to the closing of the bases. They are still important for Japan's defense, especially given tensions with North Korea and China, as well as for the credibility of the U.S. security commitment to Asia. In 1991 U.S. Marines and logistics units based in Okinawa played a crucial part in the Gulf War. Nonetheless, the uproar made U.S. officials uneasy because this week Tokyo and Washington plan to sign a five-year agreement covering Japan's financial contribution to the support of the American troops. In addition, President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama plan...
Anti-U.S. feeling in Japan has sharpened as a result of trade disputes over the past two years, and Washington is eager to calm the tensions. So, for diplomatic reasons, and no doubt feeling genuine moral outrage, Mondale was quick to apologize for the Okinawa rape. Appearing on a Larry King radio special, Clinton said the U.S. "deeply regrets" the incident. "We do not condone any misconduct or any abuse of the Japanese people," he said. "We think that anyone who violates the laws should be treated accordingly...
...rights and obligations of U.S. forces in Japan. The U.S. is obliged to hand over criminal suspects only after they have been indicted. In some countries, like South Korea, the U.S. does not surrender accused service members until they are convicted and have exhausted all appeals. In the Okinawa case, the U.S. compromised by permitting the police to take the suspects each day for questioning, but insisted that they stay overnight in the brig at Camp Hansen...
Once Japanese authorities produce an indictment, which is expected this week, the U.S. will give up the suspects for trial and, if they are convicted, let them be imprisoned in Japan. Still, the special protection for Americans rankles. Says Tsutomu Arakaki, deputy chairman of the Okinawa Bar Association: "Why should U.S. military personnel be above the law? It's been 35 years since the agreement was drawn up, and it's time for a review." In an effort to salve Japanese public opinion, Tokyo and Washington have agreed to form a committee to study the treaty, but both sides cautioned...
...Okinawans, the special treatment afforded U.S. service members is symbolic of a deeper problem. The bases represent the latest face of the hard fate that Okinawa has endured since the once independent kingdom, the heart of the Ryukyu island chain, was annexed by Japan in 1879. The Japanese then tried with partial success to exterminate the local culture and language. Toward the end of World War II, 150,000 local people--nearly a third of the population--and 12,520 U.S. troops and 100,000 Japanese soldiers died there in the bloodiest of the campaigns in the Pacific...