Japanese Seek Arrest Of U.S. Marine

[thedrifter]

December 3, 2002


TOKYO - A court in southern Japan issued a warrant Tuesday for the arrest of a U.S. Marine officer for allegedly attempting to rape a woman, police said.

The police asked the U.S. military to hand over 39-year-old Maj. Michael J. Brown, assigned to Camp Courtney on Okinawa island, under a 1995 agreement covering U.S. forces in Japan, said police spokesman Shinpachi Higashizato.
Brown allegedly tried to rape a foreign woman inside a parked car in the early morning hours of Nov. 2, Higashizato said. The woman resisted and managed to get away, he said.

U.S. Marine Corps officials declined to comment on the case Tuesday. Brown's hometown was not immediately available.

Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine protested the incident as a serious crime against women.

"Yet more trouble was caused by a U.S. serviceman, despite our repeated request to the U.S. military for disciplinary and preventive efforts," Inamine said in a statement. "It is extremely regrettable and we feel enraged."

After the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old Japanese schoolgirl by three U.S. servicemen, which outraged Okinawans, the United States agreed to be more flexible in handing over criminal suspects to Japanese authorities before they are indicted so the police can carry out their investigation. It is not compulsory for the military to hand over suspects, however.

Vice Foreign Minister Yukio Takeuchi called U.S. Ambassador Howard Baker Tuesday to protest the incident, request U.S. cooperation with the investigation and to ask for disciplinary and preventive measures, Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said.

Baker replied he still wasn't aware of the facts of the case, but said the United States would cooperate fully with the investigation, Kawaguchi added.

Crimes involving the U.S. military are a sensitive issue on Okinawa, where residents have complained about misbehavior among soldiers and noise from nearby bases.

More than half of the 47,000 American military personnel in Japan are stationed on Okinawa, 1,000 miles southwest of Tokyo.


Sempers,

Roger

[thedrifter]

U.S. refuses to hand over sexual assault suspect


By David Allen and Chiyomi Sumida, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Saturday, December 7, 2002



GUSHIKAWA, Okinawa — As Marine Maj. Michael J. Brown appeared at a police station for a fourth round of questioning in the attempted rape of a woman last month, U.S. officials denied a request to hand him over to Japanese custody.

The announcement was made late Thursday by the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.

“We have informed the government of Japan in a December 5 meeting of the U.S.-Japan Joint Committee that the government of the United States is unable to agree to transfer custody in this case prior to indictment,” the statement read.

“The government of the United States has concluded that the circumstances of this case as presented by the government of Japan do not warrant departure from the standard practice as agreed between the United States and Japan.”

Brown, 39, is accused of attacking a woman in a parked car on Nov. 2 near Camp Courtney, where he is assigned to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force’s command element.

Okinawa police would describe the woman only as a “foreign national.” However, Japanese media reports have described her as being from the Philippines.

On Tuesday, Okinawa police issued a warrant for Brown’s arrest and asked U.S. officials to release him to their custody. Under the status of forces agreement between the United States and Japan, U.S. servicemembers charged with crimes that fall under Japanese jurisdiction usually are handed over only if they are indicted in a Japanese court.

But following the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan girl by three U.S. servicemembers, the two countries agreed that under “special consideration,” suspects in serious felonies, such as murder, rape and arson, would be turned over to Japanese custody before indictment.

The U.S.-Japan Joint Committee, made up of senior U.S. and Japanese officials, discussed the police request in Tokyo on Wednesday afternoon.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry issued a statement Thursday that called the U.S. position “extremely regrettable” and declared: “We will continue seeking U.S. cooperation and give the matter firm treatment.”

Earlier in the week, U.S. Forces Japan made assurances that the U.S. military was doing everything it could to cooperate in the investigation.

“U.S. military officials have been cooperating fully with Japanese and Okinawan Prefectural Police in their investigation to date, and will continue to take actions as appropriate according to agreements between the two countries,” U.S. Forces Japan stated in a press release Wednesday afternoon.

Brown, too, has cooperated in the monthlong investigation, meeting with Okinawa police four times in the past two weeks, police and Marine officials said.

Charges include attempted rape and destruction of private property. According to police, the woman said she picked up Brown on Camp Courtney the night of Nov. 27 after he asked for a ride to his home outside the base. She said she didn’t know him before that.

Around 1:30 a.m., he allegedly assaulted her but stopped when she resisted, police said. When she tried to call police on her cellular phone, he snatched it from her and threw it to the ground, shattering it, police said.

The suspect fled, and the woman reported the incident to security guards at the main gate to Camp Courtney, who alerted Okinawa police, police said.

About 20 reporters and camera crews had been camped out in front of the Okinawa police station in Gushikawa to catch a glimpse of Brown on Thursday.

A police spokesman said Brown arrived a little before 10 a.m. and carried his own lunch. He did not leave the station until after 9 p.m.

Police say they interviewed Brown for a few hours Tuesday and Wednesday and once last week. He accompanied investigators to the scene of the alleged incident, they said. He has denied the woman’s accusations, a police spokesman said.

Crimes by American servicemembers are a flashpoint on Okinawa, which is host to about half of the U.S. troops in Japan. One-fifth of the main island is covered by U.S. bases. This case has attracted international attention because of the custody issue.

Most Okinawans want a reduction in troops and bases. They also demand that the SOFA be changed to allow Japanese police to take immediate custody of American servicemembers charged with felony crimes.

In Tokyo on Wednesday, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi called on the U.S. military to take measures to prevent such incidents.

“We must strongly urge that the military improve their attitude and take steps to prevent a recurrence of this sort of crime,” he told reporters.

The incident has already rallied some anti-base groups on the island. In front of the main gate to Camp Courtney Thursday, about 100 labor union members and local residents staged a protest in the rain.

The gates were locked during the brief, peaceful demonstration.

The group presented a protest resolution demanding Brown be turned over to Okinawa police, and that apologies and compensation be paid to the alleged victim. They also demanded changes in the SOFA.

The protest resolution will be sent to Marine Lt. Gen. Wallace C. Gregson, the Okinawa area coordinator and the senior U.S. general on the island.

Emiko Agena, leader of a Gushikawa women’s group, said it was “unacceptable that this incident was caused by a person in a leadership position.”

Agena stressed that the alleged victim’s claims should not be dismissed because she was out so late at night.

“There are some jobs that require women to work late at night,” she said. "We must make our community a safe place to live and work."

Meanwhile, the Okinawa City Assembly on Thursday unanimously adopted a protest resolution concerning the incident and demanded Brown be taken into custody.

The National Police Agency informed the Okinawa Prefectural Police of the rejection of the custody request at 6:15 p.m. Later, Isamu Inamine, chief of the Criminal Division of the Okinawa Prefectural Police held a press conference in Naha.

“I firmly believe that this case, although an attempted rape, is \[a\] heinous crime that is subject of transfer of custody,” Inamine said. He said failure to release Brown makes it more difficult for police to investigate the allegations.

“It is extremely regrettable,” he said. “That’s all I can say."


Sempers,

Roger

[thedrifter]

Japanese police raid Marine's home, office


From Stripes and wire reports
Pacific edition, Sunday, December 8, 2002



TOKYO — Police reportedly raided the home and office Friday of a Marine accused of attempted rape, in a case that has sharpened Japanese criticism of the way the U.S. military handles accusations against its troops.

The raids came a day after the United States refused to hand over Maj. Michael J. Brown to Japanese authorities, saying he must first be indicted.

Kyodo News agency said police searched Brown’s off-base home in the city of Gushikawa and his office in Camp Courtney, both on Okinawa.

Okinawa police would not comment on the report and Camp Courtney officials could not be reached for comment.

Brown, 39, is accused of trying to rape a woman Nov. 2 in a car on Okinawa. The crime allegedly took place off base, which makes it a Japanese case.

Brown denies the charge, according to Japanese media.

Okinawa police plan to turn the case over to prosecutors within a few days, a step that may expedite Brown’s indictment, said police spokesman Shinpachi Higashizato.

Meanwhile, Japan plans to press Washington for swifter handovers of U.S. military personnel suspected of crimes in Japan.

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said Japan would raise the matter with U.S. officials during a security meeting set for Dec. 16.

The handling of U.S. suspects has long been a sensitive subject on Okinawa, where there have been frequent complaints of crimes related to the American military presence.

Okinawa hosts more than half of the 47,000 U.S. troops in Japan. Under the status of forces agreement, the U.S. military does not have to turn over personnel until Japan indicts them.
But the United States agreed to be more flexible after the rule came under attack in the 1995 rape of a local schoolgirl by three U.S. servicemen.

In the past two weeks, Brown has submitted to four rounds of questioning by the Japanese police.

Charges include attempted rape and destruction of private property. According to police, the woman said she picked up her assailant on Camp Courtney the night of Nov. 27 after he asked for a ride to his home outside the base.

Around 1:30 a.m., he allegedly assaulted her but stopped when she resisted, police said. When she tried to call police on her cell phone, he snatched it from her and threw it to the ground, shattering it, police said.

The suspect fled, and the woman reported the incident to security guards at the main gate to Camp Courtney, who alerted Okinawa police.

Brown has been accompanied by investigators to the scene of the alleged incident. He has denied the woman’s accusations, a police spokesman said.

The Marine Corps has refused to release Brown’s hometown or details of the questioning.

In Tokyo on Wednesday, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi called on the U.S. military to take steps to prevent such incidents.

“We must strongly urge that the military improve their attitude and take steps to prevent recurrence of this sort of crime,” he told reporters.

Sempers,

Roger

[Art Petersn]

I was stationed on Okinawa for about 5 months in 1957 and unless things have really changed I all ways found the Okinawins to be honarable people.

The trouble with the story is the time that the incident happened. 1:30 AM. Where they were coming from, at that late hour, doesn't make sense if they were coming off the base. It's hard to believe that an officer in the Marine Corp, unless he was dead drunk, would pull such a stunt. There has to be a lot more to this story. If not, it sure would put a black eye on our officers of today.

The last I knew there were still working girls on the islalnd. Mabe that has changed to.