US sailor held on suspicion of raping Japanese woman in Okinawa hotel

[unhappycamper]

http://atimes.com/2016/03/japan-police-arrest-us-sailor-on-suspicion-of-okinawa-rape/



People hold banners at a rally against a new US military base in Okinawa, in Tokyo

US sailor held on suspicion of raping Japanese woman in Okinawa hotel
By AT Editor on March 14, 2016

Japanese police said Monday they have arrested a 24-year-old US sailor on suspicion of raping a Japanese woman in Okinawa, in a case that could further fan sentiment against Washington’s military presence on the fortified southern island.

Okinawa was the site of a brutal World War II battle between Japan and the United States but is now considered a strategic linchpin supporting the two countries’ decades-long security alliance.

Pacifist sentiment, however, runs high on the crowded island, which makes up less than one percent of Japan’s total land area but is home to about 75% of US military bases in the country.

More than half of the 47,000 American military personnel in Japan are stationed there and rapes and other crimes by US service personnel have sparked local protests in the past.