Takaichi: Japan, US in talks on tightening rules for US troops' off-duty conduct

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said at a House of Representatives committee session on Tuesday that Japan and the United States had launched senior working-level consultations following the alleged murder of a local woman by a US Marine stationed in the southern prefecture of Okinawa, public broadcaster NHK reported.

During questioning at the session, ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Masahisa Miyazaki pointed out that similar incidents continued to occur despite Japan's repeated requests for the US side to enforce discipline.

In response, Takaichi said the Japan-US senior working-level consultations, launched last week, would discuss effective preventive measures and that the Japanese government would do everything possible to address the case.

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told the same session that some matters required further review and that concrete measures should be put forward as soon as possible.

On October 3, a 39-year-old Japanese woman was found dead at a hotel in Naha, the capital of Okinawa. A 20-year-old US Marine stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, identified as Devin Ballard, was arrested by Okinawa police the following day on suspicion of murdering the woman and stealing her wallet and other belongings. Ballard has denied the allegations.

The incident prompted the Okinawa prefectural government to call for a fundamental review of the Japan-US Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which has long been criticized for being overly protective of US service members stationed at military bases in Japan. However, the central government has yet to announce any plans to revise the agreement.

Signed by Japan and the US in 1960, the SOFA governs the legal status of US forces stationed in Japan. Under the agreement, the US has the primary right to exercise jurisdiction over offenses allegedly committed by US service members in the performance of official duties. For off-duty offenses, Japan generally has primary jurisdiction. However, if a suspect is already in US custody, US authorities in principle retain custody until Japan files charges.

This means that when a US service member suspected of an offense returns to a US base in Japan, the decision to hand the suspect over to Japanese police rests largely with the US military. As a result, many cases involving US military personnel in Japan have gone unresolved.