U.S. Navy pair held in rape in Okinawa

[Spud17]

Thursday 18th October 2012

Roos vows to aid in investigation

U.S. Navy pair held in rape in Okinawa (by Ayako Mie)

U.S. ambassador to Japan, John Roos, on Wednesday expressed deep concern over the alleged rape of an Okinawa woman by two U.S. service members amid an intensifying outcry over the US bases in the prefecture. Summoned by the Foreign Ministry, Roos met with Vice Foreign Minister Shuji Kira, who called for stricter discipline of US service members in Japan, and preventative measures. After the meeting, Roos told reporters that the US Government, including the military, will cooperate in any way possible with the investigation.

Feeling the heat: US ambassador John Roos faces the media after visiting the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday


"I do understand the anger that many people feel with respect to the reported incident. I would not be honest with you if I did not tell you that I did not share some of the anger," said Roos.

The Okinawa Prefectural Police arrested two US sailors over the alleged rape of a woman in her 20s Tuesday morning. The 2 were identified as Seaman Christopher Browning, and Petty Officer 3rd Class Skyler Dozierwalker, based at the Fort Worth Naval Air Base in Texas.They were scheduled to leave for Guam on Tuesday.

According to news reports, the pair followed and assaulted the woman, who had ignored them. Police say that Browning denied the allegation, while Dozierwalker has admitted to the crime. The incident is fueling anger among Okinawans, who have witnessed repeated cases of rape and criminal conduct by US service members for decades. In 1995, 2 US Marines and a navy corpsman raped a 12-year old girl, sparking massive protests by Okinawans, and in August, a US Marine was arrested for harassing an Okinawan woman. It is believed many misdeeds go unreported.

Okinawan Governor Hirokazu Nakaima met with Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto to call on the government to demand that the US instill stricter discipline into its service members and review the Japan - U.S. Status of Forces Agreement. "This situation is mad and insane," Nakaima told Morimoto. "We need to drastically rectify the situation." Morimoto responded that the Defense Ministry is asking the U.S. to open a joint committee on the case. "This is such a heinous and vicious case. I have to say US forces are having trouble teaching discipline to their soldiers," said Morimoto.

The latest case is expected to intensify the already vociferous antibase movement in Okinawa. Residents have protested the recent deployment of 12 Osprey tilt-rotor transport aircraft at the Futenma base, citing safety fears. Despite the groundswell of opinion, the strategic importance of the Okinawan archipelago, strung out from the Japanese mainland to Taiwan, makes it a vital bulwark against the rising might of China.

In Washington, a U.S. Defense Department official said the US Navy in Japan is cooperating with the Okinawa police rape probe.

The local woman, whose identity was not revealed, suffered injuies to the neck, police said.

Source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20121018a1.html

[snilloc]

US military helping Japanese police investigate alleged rape on Okinawa by 2 sailors

TOKYO — The U.S. military is cooperating with Japanese police investigating allegations that two U.S. sailors raped a woman on Okinawa.

The incident has sparked protests from the Japanese government and an outcry on Okinawa, which hosts more than half the U.S. bases in Japan.

Cmdr. Kenneth Marshall, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy in Japan, said military authorities are cooperating with and supporting the investigation by Okinawan police, who on Tuesday arrested the two sailors accused of raping the woman.
Marshall says the Naval Criminal Investigative Service has also launched its own investigation, although Japan has primary jurisdiction.

Seaman Christopher Browning and Petty Officer 3rd Class Skyler Dozierwalker, of Joint Naval Air Station, Fort Worth, Texas, were on Okinawa on a brief stopover.

On a brief stopover who do these low lifers think they are they are guests in another country and yet it is perfectly OK with them to commit rape! I hope if found guilty they have an example made of them and spend a long, long time in Japanese Jail and get the treatment they deserve on a daily basis.

[lightbulb]

On a brief stopover who do these low lifers think they are they are guests in another country and yet it is perfectly OK with them to commit rape! I hope if found guilty they have an example made of them and spend a long, long time in Japanese Jail and get the treatment they deserve on a daily basis.

Japanese Prison is waaaaaay to comfort for the inmates there...seriously

[Spud17]

Story update: Sailor Christopher Browning has admitted to the rape charge. For more details, see:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20121023a3.html

[Togachu]

"But Seaman Christopher Browning, 23, said he does not remember the details of the incident because he was drunk at the time, sources close to the police investigation said."

Lamest excuse EVER.

[sporkium]

from a statistical point of view, i don't think this is that big of a deal. in a country with an estimated 25,000 annual rapes, archaic rape investigation procedures and NOTHING is considered taboo; the only reason this case is getting any attention is because it involves two us sailors.

sensational news provides sensational marketing options for advertisers.

[Spud17]

I agree completely. Some Japanese newspapers aren't even covering the story, probably due to the fact that most Japanese are more concerned about the nuclear issue, and the nationalists with the ongoing spat with China. I chose to highlight this particular story from the Japan Times because 1) it wasn't getting much press anywhere else, and 2) this particular newspaper seems to support the antibase movement, so i wanted to show their obvious bias in running this story. I'm certain that if the 2 sailors were say, filipino or indonesian, we wouldn't even be reading about the case.