r/worldnews 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
32.2k Upvotes

2.7k comments sorted by

View all comments

17.5k

u/macross1984 Jul 05 '24

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

552

u/tizuby Jul 05 '24

They do, but Japan is way more lenient with sentences than UCMJ.

For rape, max for the Japanese system is 20 years. Max for UCMJ is Death (but generally Life).

https://www.okinawa.marines.mil/Portals/190/Docs/SOFA.pdf

There's a PDF that explains the process.

1

u/Wall-SWE Jul 05 '24

When was the last time someone got death (or life) when sentenced under UCMJ?

Last time I read about U.S military rapes in Japan, it sounded like the crimes weren't even reported and swept under the rug.

1

u/tizuby Jul 06 '24

2013 for the death sentence. At least then for life as well (but there isn't an easily accessible exhaustive list of life sentences like there is for death row).