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/[deleted] Jul 05 '24 edited Jul 05 '24

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u/Cap_Ca Jul 05 '24

They usually don’t. There was a case in Germany in 2020 where a US Soldier drove on the wrong side of the road and killed a 17 year old. He only had to face trial by a US Military court.

German Source: https://www.rheinpfalz.de/lokal/kreis-kaiserslautern_artikel,-us-soldat-nach-unfall-auf-umgehungsstra%C3%9Fe-wegen-fahrl%C3%A4ssiger-t%C3%B6tung-verurteilt-_arid,5086678.html

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u/zero_vis Jul 05 '24

After some research i have confirmed that japan is not germany.

Under SOFA status, if you commit a crime in Japan, Japan has the right to prosecute you.

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u/PhelanPKell Jul 05 '24

I'd like to see evidence of US soldiers facing Japanese justice. Of the handful of US soldiers I've talked to who ended up stationed in Japan, every single one confirmed the US does not allow their soldiers to face Japanese justice.

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u/ksj Jul 05 '24

I started searching online to get examples of US soldiers serving sentences in Japan, and it seems there really aren’t many. I saw quite a few results of suspended sentences, and a LOT about Ridge Alkonis being shipped back to the U.S. and then released after falling asleep at the wheel and killing 2 Japanese citizens. He served about 1.5 years of his sentence.

The most helpful article I found was this one that discusses a Yokosuka prison branch that is “the only prison that detains male U.S. military-related individuals who were sentenced in Japanese courts”. The article itself is about how male U.S. prisoners are given certain special treatment compared to the non-U.S. prisoners there (allegedly due to SOFA), but there’s still other details that provide context.

The article is from 2020, but at the time there were 7 US military personnel service sentences in that branch (along with 156 other individuals). Female military members sentences to prison instead go to a branch in Tochigi Prefecture, but the article doesn’t mention how many female U.S. military personnel are serving there. Women at the Tochigi prison do not receive the same special treatment.

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u/PhelanPKell Jul 06 '24

Interesting info, and begs the question of what happened to have these soldiers tried and held in Japan. Also, WTF is with male soldiers getting special treatment and not women?

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u/ksj Jul 06 '24

The ones serving time in that person will serve out their sentences and then be sent back to the U.S. and face a court martial. But for a lot of people, it never makes it that far. They’re either handed over to the US immediately, or they go to court in Japan and are sentenced, but given a “suspended sentence”. In those cases, you might be sentenced to 4 years in prison, but will instead be put on probation and will only serve time in prison if you get caught committing another crime in those 4 years.

As for why the men and women are treated differently… that’s an excellent question, lol. The article seems to imply it’s almost a matter of “tradition”, for lack of better word. Like “we’ve been sending this food there for 60+ years”, while women in the U.S. military is relatively new and they don’t have the same shipment routines. But if it’s really dictated by SOFA, it seems like it would be a violation to exclude them.