Report from Okinawa: long-term US military presence and violence against women

Okinawa's situation in regard to U.S. bases differs from other parts of Japan in three ways. In 1945, Okinawa was the site of a fierce, three-month land battle between U.S. and Japanese forces, in which Okinawa citizens became entangled. The Battle of Okinawa resulted in the death of one-fourth of the Okinawan population -- more than 200,000 people. The battlefield also became the site of violence against women. Second, the most productive land and areas -- where Okinawan people had long secured their livelihood -- were requisitioned to build vast U.S. bases. Okinawans, displaced by the battle, were not allowed to return to their land until after the military had selected sites for new bases. Okinawa was under total U.S. military control for 27 years after World War II, during which period the U.S. military in Okinawa was directly involved both in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Third, administrative control of Okinawa was returned to Japan in 1972 while the Vietnam War was still in process, resulting in continued escalation of U.S. military crime and violence against Okinawan women. Today, 27 years after Okinawa's reversion to Japan, a huge U.S. military presence continues to be located in highly-congested Okinawa, which still serves as the site of U.S. Marine Corps battlefield simulation drills conducted on a regular basis. Many Okinawans oppose this U.S. presence, and are also bitter that successive Japanese governments have allowed Okinawa to bear the major burden of U.S, troops and bases in the country (Japan Coalition on the U.S. Military Bases). In 1972, Okinawa reverted to Japan after 27 years of U.S. military administration. In 1973, the U.S. draft system changed from military conscription to voluntary enlistment. At the same time, the Japanese yen strengthened against the dollar, and U.S. troops in Japan no longer had superior buying power. During this period, the number of military personnel stationed in Okinawa remained virtually unchanged, although the prostitution areas experienced a sharp decline, as U.S. troops could no longer afford to patronize them. Meanwhile, the number of Okinawan junior-high and high-school girls who were victims of sexual violence increased. Philippine women began working in bars and Clubs around military bases in Okinawa, entering Japan on short-term entertainer" visas. They endured inferior working conditions and severe human rights violations. In fact, in 1983, two Philippine women working in a club near a base burned to death in a fire as a result of unsafe working conditions. (The Okinawa Times 1983). Children fathered by U.S. military personnel and problems related to these men acknowledging paternity and paying child-support increased during the post-reversion period. For instance, one woman attorney handled 30 of these cases in a two-year period (The Ashabi Shinbun). In 1991, U.S. bases in Okinawa were once again launching sites for war. This time, U.S. troops were deployed to the Persian Gulf War. The freedom of activity of U.S, military forces stationed in Okinawa is guaranteed, but policies to prevent crimes or support victims of crimes committed by U.S. troops has never even been discussed. There is no systematic data on U.S. military crimes. U.S. authorities proclaimed that the rape of the wife or daughter of a U.S. serviceman would result in the death penalty for the assailant. In contrast, punishments for U.S. military crimes were light. In many cases, because the suspect was returned to the U.S., the trial verdict was never known. Until 1972, U.S. military crimes were handled by military courts-martial, and only after Reversion were trials held under the Japanese legal system. During the 27 years of U.S. military control there was no accurate report of the results of military courts-martial. Even today, there is no complete report of the total number of incidents and how they are dealt with. Some cases are adjudicated through the Japanese courts; while crimes committed inside U.S. bases that result in a court-martial are tried en irely separately."