Arrests of U.S. military personnel in Japan increase

Japanese police made 740 arrests of U.S. soldiers stationed in Japan on criminal charges between 1995 and 2003. About half of them took place in Okinawa.

The number of arrests of U.S. military personnel was 127 in 1995, 48 in 1998, and 118 in 2003.

The number of arrests in Okinawa during the 8 years was 354.

After Okinawa, Nagasaki Prefecture holds the second largest number of arrests of U.S. military personnel, 123. The U.S. Sasebo Naval Base is located in Nagasaki Prefecture.

At a House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee meeting on April 28, Japanese Communist Party member Akamine Seiken revealed this data collected by the National Police Agency.

Akamine pointed out that the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement must be revised in order to help prevent crimes by U.S. military personnel. (end)