The US military in Japan is restricting celebrations and off-base alcohol consumption in Okinawa after the arrest of a former Marine suspected of killing a woman on the southern Japanese island.
The Marine Corps commander in Japan said on Saturday the measures were not punishment but an effort to show respect for the victim’s family and mourn with the people of Okinawa.
“We should not be out shooting fireworks. We should not be out having large celebrations and parties while the Okinawan people are in mourning. If we really believe we are part of the Okinawan community, then we too must be in mourning. And we do,” Lt Gen Lawrence Nicholson said at a news conference at a US base in Okinawa.
The 30,000 US troops will not be allowed to drink alcohol off-base, and visiting clubs and bars is prohibited. Upcoming festivals and concerts on bases are being postponed until later in the summer. The restrictions took effect on Friday and will last until 24 June.
Police say they arrested 32-year-old Kenneth Shinzato on 19 May after he told investigators where they could find a 20-year-old woman’s body abandoned in a forest. Under Japanese law, he can be held for 21 days before charges are filed. The former Marine had married a Japanese woman and was working for a contractor that provided services to US bases on Okinawa.
Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said he had urged Barack Obama to take steps to address crimes by US military and American base workers on Okinawa.
“I feel profound resentment and am speechless when I think of what happened to the victim of this despicable crime,” he told a joint news conference, adding that he had warned Obama that plans to relocate a Marine Corps air station to a less-populated part of Okinawa would be difficult to complete without the trust of the island’s residents.
About half of the US troops stationed in Japan are on the island, and many residents resent the burden they bear for the defence of Japan and the region. They want the air station moved off Okinawa all together.