People in Japan stage rallies against sexual assaults by U.S. servicemen

25/4/2025 6:32

Rallies were staged in the southernmost Japanese prefecture of Okinawa as well as in Tokyo on Thursday to protest against sexual assaults on girls and women by U.S. servicemen stationed in Okinawa prefecture.

The protests came as Okinawa prefectural police said Wednesday that they have referred two U.S. Marines, each in his 20s, to prosecutors on suspicion of committing separate sexual assaults against women.

About 30 residents stood in silence in front of the Okinawa prefectural government, holding flowers and signs that read "Never tolerate sexual violence" and "We cannot turn a blind eye to this."

Megumi Kamiya, who participated in the rally, said, "When I saw the news, I felt extremely angry, thinking, 'Not again?'"

Kamiya said that although the U.S. military and local police began joint patrols in Okinawa's entertainment districts on Friday last week as part of efforts to prevent sexual crimes involving American military personnel, she believed that this approach has limited effect.

"The patrol people were walking around chatting and laughing. It seemed like it was just a performance," she added.

On the same day, around 30 people gathered in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the heart of Tokyo to support the protesters in Okinawa. They held up signs such as "Stop the U.S. military's crimes" and "Listen to the Voice of Okinawa," and shouted slogans to express their demands.

One of the organizers, Masayuki Oku, took to the microphone and expressed his anger, saying, "How can we call this Japan-U.S. security when the number of victims of sexual violence continues to increase?"

Three U.S. service members have been indicted amid a series of alleged sexual violence cases in Okinawa since June last year, local media reported.

The island of Okinawa hosts 70 percent of all the U.S. military bases in Japan while accounting for only 0.6 percent of the country's total land area. Crimes committed by U.S. service members and nonmilitary personnel have been a constant source of grievance for locals.