U.S. navy nabs sailor; hints of link to Japan murder

[LiberalNation]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080322/ts_nm/japan_murder_dc;_ylt=AmfPyzIhrPpYfHrpiVdfuy934T0D

TOKYO (Reuters) - The U.S. navy took a sailor into custody early Saturday in Tokyo on the charge of desertion, the U.S. Naval Forces Japan said. Japanese and U.S. investigators had been looking for a U.S. serviceman whose credit card was believed to have been found in a taxi in which a Japanese taxi driver was killed this week.

A 61-year-old taxi driver was found dead in his taxi with stab wounds in his neck on Wednesday evening, according to the Kanagawa prefectural police, south of Tokyo.

The U.S. navy said that the name of the sailor will be withheld until further notice due to privacy issues, and it will continue to cooperate with Japanese law enforcement officials in this case.

Police sources have said a credit card which apparently belonged to a crew member of the U.S. 7th Fleet's Aegis-equipped cruiser based in Yokosuka had been found in the taxi.

The sources have said the U.S. serviceman, whose identity was withheld, had been missing for "several weeks."

[NATO AIR]

Friends in Yoko say he is a Cowpens sailor who was on drugs.... how wonderful... if the liberty restrictions were bad less than 2 years ago when I was there, I can't imagine what they are going to be like now... and with 3,000 new to Japan sailors arriving this summer on the USS George Washington, it will be like a military prison camp on that base by the fall...

[Nukeman]

Hey LN I see you found another degrading "story" on a US military person!!! How about you find a good story on lesbians torturing or murdering someone!!!

[LiberalNation]

If it didn't happen I wouldn't have stories to post..........

[LiberalNation]

Japan's Okinawans rally against U.S. military crimes

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/japan_usa_okinawa_dc;_ylt=Ai2FwMvhBrsQ8ZIqvE9GX64D W7oF

TOKYO (Reuters) - Thousands of Okinawans rallied on Sunday to protest crimes by U.S. troops and demand a smaller U.S. military presence on the southern Japanese island after last month's arrest of a Marine on suspicion of raping a schoolgirl.

"Crimes and accidents due to the bases have happened over and over and Okinawa has protested with intense anger to both the U.S. and Japanese governments," Kyodo quoted Okinawa City Mayor Mitsuko Tomon as telling a crowd gathered in heavy rain in the town of Chatan, where the February incident occurred.

"But each time, our voices have been trampled and there has been no end to the heinous crimes," the mayor added.

Organizers estimated about 6,000 people took part in the rally, Kyodo news agency said. Police declined to give an estimate.

The arrest of U.S. Marine Tyrone Hadnott, 38, on suspicion of raping a 14-year-old girl sparked outrage on Okinawa, host to a big chunk of the nearly 50,000 U.S. troops in Japan, and stirred memories of the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old girl that prompted huge anti-base protests and jolted the U.S.-Japan alliance.

[Nukeman]

Japan's Okinawans rally against U.S. military crimes

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/japan_usa_okinawa_dc;_ylt=Ai2FwMvhBrsQ8ZIqvE9GX64D W7oF

TOKYO (Reuters) - Thousands of Okinawans rallied on Sunday to protest crimes by U.S. troops and demand a smaller U.S. military presence on the southern Japanese island after last month's arrest of a Marine on suspicion of raping a schoolgirl.

"Crimes and accidents due to the bases have happened over and over and Okinawa has protested with intense anger to both the U.S. and Japanese governments," Kyodo quoted Okinawa City Mayor Mitsuko Tomon as telling a crowd gathered in heavy rain in the town of Chatan, where the February incident occurred.

"But each time, our voices have been trampled and there has been no end to the heinous crimes," the mayor added.

Organizers estimated about 6,000 people took part in the rally, Kyodo news agency said. Police declined to give an estimate.

The arrest of U.S. Marine Tyrone Hadnott, 38, on suspicion of raping a 14-year-old girl sparked outrage on Okinawa, host to a big chunk of the nearly 50,000 U.S. troops in Japan, and stirred memories of the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old girl that prompted huge anti-base protests and jolted the U.S.-Japan alliance.

With 50,000 troops in Japan you would think that there would be a HUGE amount of crime committed by them (at least in your world LN). In reality they commit VERY few crimes in Japan, far fewer than the general populace. You won't find any Japaneze commenting on that though, becasue it will not further their own agenda.

You really should look at the treatment of Koreans by the Japaneze over the last 1500 years if you wnat to see crime statistics or abuse by another culture. Back on topic I puled this bit of information for you this is the number of crimes commited by US service personel in Japan for the last 5 years


2007
Total: 46 individuals; 63 cases
Heinous: 6 individuals; 6 cases
Violent: 3 individuals; 2 cases
Thefts: 25 individuals; 27 cases
Intellectual: 3 individuals; 14 cases
Other: 9 individuals; 14 cases

2006
Total: 63 individuals; 57 cases
Heinous: 5 individuals; 3 cases
Violent: 12 individuals; 10 cases
Thefts: 27 individuals; 21 cases
Intellectual: 5 individuals; 9 cases
Other: 14 individuals; 14 cases

2005
Total: 65 individuals; 66 cases
Heinous: 4 individuals; 2 cases
Violent: 7 individuals; 7 cases
Thefts: 28 individuals; 28 cases
Intellectual: 5 individuals; 7 cases
Moral offenses: 1 individual; 1 case
Other: 20 individuals; 21 cases

2004
Total: 72 individuals; 59 cases
Heinous: 1 individual; 1 case
Violent: 11 individuals; 12 cases
Thefts: 29 individuals; 23 cases
Intellectual: 5 individuals; 3 cases
Moral offenses: 3 individuals; 4 cases
Other: 23 individuals; 16 cases

2003
Total: 133 individuals; 112 cases
Heinous: 12 individuals; 7 cases
Violent: 13 individuals; 11 cases
Thefts: 62 individuals; 48 cases
Intellectual: 8 individuals; 11 cases
Moral offenses: 4 individuals; 4 cases
Other: 34 individuals; 31 cases

Source: Okinawa Prefectural Police

Note: Okinawa police define a heinous crime as murder, robbery, rape, arson and sexual assault.

[David Allen & Chiyomi Sumida - Stars & Stripes]

All of these include service memebers dependents and military contract employees. So not all are commited by the service personel!


In 2005, 6,675 felonies resulted in arrests on Okinawa. Only 66 cases involved Americans here under the SOFA. And of the 4,346 people arrested for those felonies, just 65 were U.S. servicemembers, their dependents or civilian workers.
“According to statistics provided by the Okinawa Prefectural Police for 2005, the number of crimes committed by U.S. personnel, consisting of servicemembers and military dependents, continues to remain proportionately low compared to the overall crime rate on the island,” said Marine spokesman 1st Lt. Clint Gebke.

Of the 1,407,613 people living in Okinawa prefecture, 42,570 — or about 3 percent— are Americans connected with the U.S. military. Gebke pointed out that the 2005 statistics show 0.98 percent of the total serious crimes on Okinawa were linked to Americans and 1.5 percent of the people arrested were SOFA status personnel.


LN pay special attention to the bolded and underlined part. You tell me if after reading this that this is not just sensationalization or the Japaneze just being xenophbic. Do you feel that MAYBE they are just using this to further a specific cause or agenda? You are falling right into the propaganda that they want and need to "kick out" the US forces.

You do realize that if we are not in Japan than the Chinese will have no direct competition in the area and our counter measure to anything they may raise up is severely limited!!! Like most young people you dont really think beyond the end of a story!!! You see a headline and that is all, you dont dig any deeper to see if it is a accurate picture of reality..:poke:

Grow up and realize most sensational stories are just that sensationalized. Don't get me wrong any service memeber that commites a crime should be held accountable to the extent of the law.

[LiberalNation]

Yes it is sensationalism. However if there were Japanese troops based in America who raped/killed/robbed American citizens even if the numbers were miniscule we would raise just as much of an outcry. It's their Island and the people, they should be free to decide if they want foreign troops stationed on it.

You know that freedom thing America is always trumpeting.

[NATO AIR]

Hey LN I see you found another degrading "story" on a US military person!!! How about you find a good story on lesbians torturing or murdering someone!!!

We used to call liberty incidents "suicide bombers". The extremely few who do fuck up ruin it for everyone else because the Japanese are so hyper-sensitive to foreigners committing crime... one Filipino sailor on a commercial vessel stole a Japanese woman's purse in Shibuya and they are still bitching about it 3 years later!

As always, the problem is alcohol. Most young men just can't handle it. While my long nights on shore patrol were entertaining (and I actually miss them greatly!), I couldn't help but shake my head at how utterly unable to handle alcohol so many of my peers were.

I'm not perfect on this.. I usually just blacked out and ended up waking up on a train or in a field or park sleeping against a tree or went home with a girl fast before I drank way too much more than I already had too much of....

[LiberalNation]

Japan police arrest U.S. sailor for murder

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080403/ts_nm/japan_usa_military_dc


TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese police arrested on Thursday a U.S. sailor on suspicion of murdering and robbing a taxi driver last month, the latest case of crime linked to U.S. bases in the country.

Japan's top government spokesman, however, said the bilateral alliance would not be affected by such cases.

Nearly 50,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Japan under the U.S.-Japan security alliance, a pillar of Tokyo's diplomacy, but friction with local communities often occurs because of concern about crime, accidents and noise.

Police in Kanagawa, near Tokyo, identified the arrested sailor as 22-year-old Olatunbosun Ugbogu.

Ugbogu, who is a Nigerian national, had been in U.S. military custody on a charge of desertion and was handed over to Japanese police by agreement with U.S. authorities. A small percentage of U.S. military personnel is made up of non-U.S. citizens.