Washington, Oct. 6 (Jiji Press)–U.S. television network CBS has reported that a U.S. Marine’s alleged murder in the southernmost Japan prefecture of Okinawa has “sparked public outrage” in the Asian country. Other U.S. news organizations also reported on the situation, expressing concern over a renewed backlash against the U.S. military presence in Okinawa, which bears a disproportionate burden of hosting U.S. bases. The island prefecture’s police Sunday arrested the Marine on suspicion of the robbery and murder of a woman in Naha, the prefectural capital. In the report Monday, CBS explained that Okinawa hosts more than 70 pct of the facilities and areas in Japan for exclusive use by the U.S. military. “Crimes including rapes, assaults, hit-and-run and drunk-driving incidents by U.S. personnel have long sparked protests on the island,” the report said. CNN emphasized that locals have repeatedly called for a reduction in U.S. bases, referring to the sexual assault of a young girl by U.S. service members in 1995, which triggered a large-scale protest rally. The report also mentioned Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s strong protest over the incident and the possibility of political fallout between the two countries. Conservative media outlet Fox News reported that the incident “comes against a decades-long backdrop of tensions surrounding the large U.S. military presence in Okinawa.” The Washington Post said that the incident “could complicate” Takaichi’s push “to strengthen Japanese military on the island and to work more closely with the U.S. military to deter China in the region.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
