Calls for transparency in Japan as more sex crimes by U.S. military personnel come to light

Better information sharing is demanded from the central Japanese government by both the public and local governments, as more previously undisclosed sex crime cases related to U.S. military personnel in the country were revealed to have taken place in many prefectures, including Okinawa.

A total of 166 cases involving sex crimes by U.S. servicemen and those connected to the U.S. military in Japan have been recorded from 1989 to May this year, according to the National Police Agency (NPA).

The cases included 91 instances of nonconsensual intercourse and 75 cases of indecency without consent, the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported, citing the NPA data.

Among the cases that occurred in various prefectures, including Aomori, Iwate, Saitama, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Fukuoka, Nagasaki and Okinawa, the Okinawa prefectural police recorded 16 cases, while the Metropolitan Police Department in Tokyo had 14.

The information about the sexual assault cases, however, was often not communicated to the local governments hosting U.S. military facilities, leading to a lack of awareness at the local level, the newspaper added.

An investigation conducted by the newspaper found that in Aomori prefecture, two cases involving soldiers from the U.S. base in Misawa were referred to prosecutors but not made public, with both the prefectural and Misawa city governments reporting that the central government did not notify them of these incidents.

Similarly, incidents in Aomori and Kanagawa prefectures were not communicated to local governments, prompting calls for the central government to improve its information-sharing practices.

The Japanese government is now coordinating to ensure that information on sex crimes by U.S. military personnel is promptly communicated to local authorities, even if the cases are not publicly disclosed, the newspaper added.