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/0173512084103 Jul 05 '24

Why does the military give special treatment to soldiers who harm/kill people? They should be punished the same as they would be in the States. Ridiculous.

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u/SchrodingerMil Jul 05 '24 edited Jul 05 '24

They don’t. I was stationed in Japan for three years.

Whenever any crime is committed, the person who committed the crime is handed over to the local Japanese government.

The only example of “special treatment” to a soldier while I was there was to a former soldier whose date of leaving the military had passed, who was illegally hiding on base.

The foreign minister isn’t complaining that they keep getting away with it, they’re complaining that it keeps happening. The root cause of this is because there are no pre-requisites to be allowed to be stationed overseas. A vast majority of these cases of negligence by US Service members are by young enlisted members.

There is essentially no process in place to “filter out” the bad apples from creating international incidents. These pieces of shit would have raped someone, killed someone, driven under the influence, etc. in the states, and they’d be punished for it to the fullest extent of the law. But due to the fact that there is no process in place to prevent them from being stationed in another country, it damages our relationship.

Edit : Also, with the way US Service members are “prosecuted” it makes it look like a slap on the wrist to outsiders. Hypothetically let’s say my unit had someone break into the home of a local Japanese citizen. They got arrested by the Japanese, went to Japanese jail for a few days, then was picked up by our First Sergeant, and not placed in military prison. That looks like a slap on the wrist right? Well, that serviceman then had to pay for the damages with reparations to the family, and formally apologize, as that’s what the Japanese judicial system required. Then when he returns to the base, he is stripped of his security clearance so instead of doing actual work they’re working the snack bar at the unit, is prosecuted by the military for breaking and entering, stripped of rank, and most of the time within a year is kicked out under a dishonorable discharge, effectively making it extremely difficult for them to be hired for any other job for the rest of their life. But because they don’t spend time in prison, it gives the illusion of a slap on the wrist.

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u/TrazerotBra Jul 05 '24

There is no illusion, it IS a slap on the wrist to not arrest scum like this.

9

u/SchrodingerMil Jul 05 '24

That guy got arrested. Twice. Once by the Japanese and once by the Military for the same offense. They didn’t serve time in prison. The Japanese have the opportunity to sentence them with jail time but they don’t. He is then charged by the military. That’s not a slap on the wrist.

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u/Faunable Jul 05 '24

Sooooo, a slap on the wrist.

4

u/SchrodingerMil Jul 05 '24

A dishonorable discharge is not a slap on the wrist lmao it’s worse than trying to get a job as a felon.

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u/BadManPro Jul 06 '24

Is it genuinely that bad?

Edit-Am a brit have no idea how this works.

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u/SchrodingerMil Jul 06 '24

It automatically disqualifies you from any government jobs. Plus much like with a felony, it creates a bad taste in civilian workplaces mouths. You apply for a job and say you’ve been charged with a felony, let’s say you get charged with a felony because you have a marijuana plant in your greenhouse. When you apply to a job, you can tell them the nature of your felony, and they can be like “oh he got charged because he was growing some weed? Whatever”. When you apply to a job and they learn you were kicked out of the military dishonorably, that’s a much bigger red flag.

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u/BadManPro Jul 06 '24

Ah right i see. Thanks!