SOFA changes are topic of U.S.-Japan talks

[thedrifter]

SOFA changes are topic of U.S.-Japan talks


By David Allen, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Wednesday, July 2, 2003



If a U.S. servicemember is accused of a crime in Japan, when should he or she be handed over to Japanese authorities?

And when being questioned by those authorities, should that servicemember be allowed to have an attorney present, something not required by Japanese law?

Those are key issues likely to be on the table this week when U.S. and Japanese officials start talks in Tokyo about how to handle American troops charged with felony crimes while stationed in Japan.

The talks come in the wake of the arrest of Lance Cpl. Jose W. Torres, a Marine accused of raping a 19-year-old Okinawan woman May 25.

Under the status of forces agreement between the United States and Japan, U.S. military authorities need not turn over suspects until a Japanese court issues an indictment.

But a special arrangement between the two countries provides for the early handover of servicemembers accused of “heinous” crimes, such as rape.

Torres, 21, was turned over to Japanese police June 18 under that arrangement.

Some Okinawans have called for immediate handover of any U.S. servicemember charged with any crime.

Okinawa officials, saying that Americans should be treated the same in the Japanese legal system as Japanese citizens, are asking for immediate control of Americans charged with any felony.

But some Americans critical of SOFA argue it should ensure U.S. servicemembers have some of the same rights they would have under the American judicial system.

For instance, a suspect should be allowed to have a lawyer present during questioning, they say.

Tough negotiations are ahead, predicted Hatsuhisa Takashima, director-general for press and public relations for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“The government of Japan will thoroughly discuss the issue with the U.S. representatives and will make an utmost effort to solve the issue within 45 days,” Takashima said. “There are differences between the judicial systems of the two countries. Bearing the differences in mind, it is important for us to find a mutually acceptable solution to the issue.

“The presence of defense counsel during questioning is not provided for in the Japanese legal system. Whether or not this infringes on the human rights of servicemembers will be the focal point of the talks.”

American attorney Michael Griffith has been calling on officials to allow a suspect’s lawyer to be present during questioning ever since the 1995 rape and abduction of a 12-year-old Okinawa girl by two Marines and a Navy medic.

Griffith, who specializes in handling criminal cases involving Americans overseas, characterized the Japanese system as allowing what amounts to torture: keeping suspects in isolation for up to 21 days without benefit of counsel.

The intense interrogation process usually results in confessions, Griffith said, arguing that, consequently, more than 95 percent of all cases presented for indictment wind up in convictions.

The family of another Marine charged with a sex crime on Okinawa is vowing to keep pressure on U.S. officials to demand SOFA changes.

Raymond “Buck” Brown, the brother of Maj. Michael Brown, on trial in Naha District Court for an alleged attempted assault last November, says SOFA currently “forces our military to hand over our men and women in uniform accused of crimes to a system in which they automatically relinquish the basic rights they are guaranteed as citizens of the United States.”

He said he was pleased to hear about the coming talks in Tokyo.

“We have been calling for the suspension of the criminal procedures within the SOFA, specifically in Okinawa, until they can be changed to protect the rights of U.S. servicemen and until Japan changes their criminal procedures to ensure that Okinawa cannot abuse the terms of the SOFA,” Brown says on his Web site www.majorbrown.org, set up to defend his brother.

But Brown said he is concerned American representatives will instead make concessions.

Okinawa officials, in particular, are pressuring Tokyo to insist on having more control of U.S. servicemembers.

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Sempers,

Roger

[thedrifter]

Inamine calls for rally against SOFA


By David Allen and Chiyomi Sumida, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Monday, July 7, 2003



NAHA, Okinawa — Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine wants to show Tokyo and Washington that Okinawans are united behind his demands for changes in the Status of Forces Agreement between the two countries.

So, with the backing of the Federation of Okinawa Labor Unions, he has scheduled a prefecture-wide rally he hopes will draw the biggest crowd since some 58,000 people gathered in Ginowan to protest the abduction and rape of a 12-year-old local girl by two Marines and a Navy medic in 1995.

The SOFA is a hot topic this month as representatives of the two countries gather in Tokyo and Washington to discuss the issue.

The chief item on the agenda is whether U.S. servicemembers should have rights not available to Japanese citizens charged with felony crimes. American critics of the current arrangement want servicemembers to be allowed to have their lawyers present when being interrogated by police and prosecutors; a U.S. official familiar with the talks has said the United States wants at least an observer present whenever Japanese police are questioning someone with SOFA status.

Inamine, on the other hand, is pushing to give Japanese officials more control of GIs charged with crimes.

But — although now, with the talks in progress, would seem the appropriate time for a rally — Inamine’s demonstration is set for October, when the weather is not so hot and humid, according to rally organizers.

Besides avoiding the summer heat, the governor and labor organizers feel they need time to rally a “broad spectrum” of people to their cause. They want to hold the rally in early October, but the location has not been identified.

The Prefectural Assembly is discussing whether to back the event.

Under SOFA, the United States retains jurisdiction of servicemembers charged with crimes until they are indicted. The United States also has no jurisdiction if the troop is arrested off base. Following the 1995 incident, a special arrangement was worked out within the SOFA guidelines for the early hand-over of persons suspected of “heinous” crimes, such as rape and murder.

Inamine wants Japan to have immediate jurisdiction of the suspects. He also calls for changes in other sections of the SOFA.

For example, he wants local governing bodies to have more say concerning the location and operation of U.S. bases in Japan, and to have access to the bases during emergencies. He has also wants assurances that U.S. and Japanese federal governments will pay for the environmental cleanup of any returned base property.

Other changes demanded by Inamine are banning military aircraft and ships from civilian airports and ports, except in emergencies, and eliminating the lower vehicle tax rate for SOFA personnel.

For example, an American with SOFA status and a standard car pays $65 annual road tax; a Japanese citizen with the same car pays $300.

Inamine has been campaigning throughout Japan for the SOFA changes, focusing on prefectures that host U.S. military bases. To date, he has gained support from the Japan Governors’ Association, Japanese Federation of Bar Associations and special committees on Okinawa in both houses of the Diet.


http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?...&article=16388


Sempers,

Roger