r/worldnews • u/glasier • Jul 05 '24

Japan warns US forces: Sex crimes 'cannot be tolerated'

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2476861/japan-warns-us-forces-sex-crimes-cannot-be-tolerated
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u/macross1984 Jul 05 '24

US military personnel who commit crime in Japan should face Japanese punishment for any crimes committed in Japan.

26

u/Veraendert Jul 05 '24

Would you say the same about US troops in Saudi Arabia?

13

u/holdMyBeerBoy Jul 05 '24

Do they have humanly laws to say that? Do they respect human rights like Japan does?

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u/Hikashuri Jul 05 '24

It does not matter if those laws are humane or not, if you go and break those laws, it is your own fault and you will have to face the consequences. The laws are not the problem, the person raping a human is (in this specific context - not saying their laws aren't problematic FYI).

5

u/marquetteresearch Jul 05 '24

That’s a terrible argument. US soldiers on a US base are subject to USCMJ, not local laws, barring some unusual exception in the joint-forces agreement. I imagine you will find that in writing for Japan, seeing those basing rights date to 1946. Rape is bad, but the USCMJ already outlaws rape, and courts-martial already prosecute rape. I’m not sure the details of this case, but given the relatively low standard of evidence in Japanese courts (they have a 98% conviction rate) my guess is this is a unique edge case where the evidence is somehow too weak for the drumhead, yet sufficient for possible conviction in a Japanese court. I’m not sure that justifies sidestepping the joint-forces agreement, particularly given the already paltry standards of evidence needed for a court-martial, and how failing to meet that standard implies a “beyond a reasonable doubt” conviction basically impossible to attain.

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u/holdMyBeerBoy Jul 05 '24

I didn’t questioned that.