Japanese authorities investigate US marine over assault, rape allegations

Local outrage grows after another sexual assault case linked to US forces.

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A United States Marine stationed in Japan’s Okinawa prefecture has been charged with the rape of a Japanese civilian woman and the assault of another woman who tried to intervene, according to officials familiar with the investigation.

The incident allegedly took place in March in a restroom located within a US military base in Okinawa. Japanese police, in coordination with US military authorities, launched an investigation shortly afterward.

The suspect, a man in his 20s whose identity has not been disclosed, remains under American jurisdiction by the bilateral Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which governs the legal handling of US personnel in Japan.

According to sources cited by local media, the second woman involved sustained injuries while attempting to rescue the victim from the assault. The case was formally referred to prosecutors by Okinawa police on April 7.

This case marks the third alleged sexual assault involving US military personnel in Okinawa since June 2024, further inflaming longstanding tensions between the local population and the American military presence on the island.

Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki, a long-time critic of the US military footprint in the region, condemned the alleged assault as “very deplorable” and reiterated calls for stricter safeguards.

“We strongly urge the US military to implement concrete and effective measures to prevent such incidents from happening again,” said Tamaki during a press briefing.

The US Ambassador to Japan, George Glass, also released a statement expressing deep concern.

“We deeply value the bonds we’ve built with our Japanese partners and host communities. These incidents jeopardise the trust we’ve cultivated over many decades,” Glass stated.

Public frustration in Okinawa continues to rise. Despite agreements between the US and Japanese governments to reduce the military presence and relocate certain bases, implementation has faced repeated political and legal obstacles.

In 2012, Tokyo and Washington agreed to relocate 9,000 Marines from Okinawa and move key facilities to less populated areas or other locations such as Guam. Yet, over a decade later, only a fraction of that plan has been realised.

This week, in a rare show of joint coordination, Japanese police and US military personnel conducted joint patrols in Okinawa City’s entertainment districts, an effort to deter future crimes and reassure residents. The patrols were the first of their kind since 1974.

Okinawa hosts more than half of the 47,000 US troops stationed in Japan and nearly two-thirds of all American military installations in the country. Tensions over the US presence date back decades and have periodically erupted in protest following major incidents, most notably the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old girl by three US servicemen—a crime that triggered national outrage and demands for change.

In 2024 alone, 80 individuals connected to the US military were charged with crimes in Okinawa. With this latest case, three servicemen have now been formally accused of sexual violence on the island in less than a year.

While the suspect in the March assault remains under US control, Japanese prosecutors will ultimately decide whether to pursue formal charges under Japanese law. If indicted, a request could be made for custody transfer in line with SOFA provisions, though such outcomes are rare and often politically sensitive.