It came to light last Tuesday that a US Air Force member based in Okinawa was indicted in March for sexually assaulting a local underage girl.
Alleged assault on underage girl
The indictment says that in December, 25-year-old Brennon Washington approached the victim in a park in the central part of Okinawa's main island and drove her away in a car. He then allegedly asked her to come to his home to cook and watch movies together, drove her there, and then sexually assaulted her.
Local police initiated an investigation after receiving a complaint from someone related to her and sent papers on the suspect to the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office on March 11. Prosecutors indicted him on March 27.
Another alleged assault results in injury
Last Friday, another case of alleged sexual abuse involving US military personnel came to light.
Prosecutors indicted a US Marine for allegedly attempting to sexually assault a woman and injuring her in May.
21-year-old Marine Lance Corporal Jamel Clayton was indicted by the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office on June 17.
The woman resisted and the Marine left the scene, but the police found him after receiving a call from her, and arrested him outside a US military base.
People in Okinawa enraged
A crowd of about 100 gathered on Friday night in front of US Kadena Air Base, where one of the alleged assailants, Washington, is stationed.
Participants brought flowers to the gate of the base and held them aloft in protest, calling for the eradication of sexual violence.
The organizer of the gathering said that she cannot keep quiet, as such incidents keep occurring.
A female college student said that it is unforgivable that an air force soldier assaulted a girl under the age of 16. "I can't forgive the Japanese and US governments for hiding it for 6 months," she said.
Also on Friday, Okinawa Governor Tamaki Denny described the cases as "inhumane and despicable crimes" and that he feels "extreme anger."
"The crimes cause the people of Okinawa strong concerns but also ignore women's human rights and dignity, and are absolutely unacceptable," he told reporters. "It is more than regrettable that, in a sense, the situation is left unaddressed."
Local official urge for information to be shared
Okinawa officials say they were kept uninformed about both of the incidents.
Governor Tamaki stressed the need to review the current communication system linking Japan's central government, local governments, and the US military for the sharing of information about incidents involving US military personnel.
Yomitan Village Mayor Ishimine Denjitsu also urged the Foreign Ministry to re-establish a system to promptly share information. The village is home to US military facilities.
Visiting the Foreign Ministry's Okinawa office on Tuesday, Ishimine said local authorities were "kept in the dark for half a year about the December case." He said if information was adequately shared, incidents from January onward could have been prevented.
At a regular news conference on the same day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa said that relevant ministries and agencies will consider how to share information in the future, taking into account the privacy of victims and the impact on investigations.