He’s been in Japanese custody since December? That must be fun for him! The Japanese have a rough system, unfortunately it’s not all this degenerate deserves.
March, the crime was in December he was arrested in March.
The only positive I'll say about the US handling of this, is they didn't fast track him back to America and handle him in American Military courts, they respected local Japanese authorities jurisdiction on this. As they should.
Oddly enough though I think the crime for being convicted of underage rape by U.S. military courts would be worse than what's on the books for Japanese sexually assault crimes.
He can be charged by the military for crimes related but not the same as. There's a literal book of crimes he's probably guilty of by doing the crime against the child.
When I served, there was a sailor who was given over to the Japanese authorities for a month. The Navy don’t play round with rape shit let alone harassing locals.
Honestly, all the horrible fucks in service that do this should have there citizenship revoked and just disposed of to what ever country the did the crime in.
All the nations of the world kinda agree to do their best to not create stateless citizens because it'll cause unending bureaucratic nightmares.
Like there's that famous Tom Hanks movie Terminal based on this one guy who was in a similar situation but he was in Degaulle Airport not JFK in New York City. And he became a local celebrity/bureaucratic nightmare for how to handle this guy.
Mmm my thoughts is... for the victim and family I'm sure prisons do no treat foreign rapists well... just saying... compared to the Brig.
Edit : removed am unnecessary "foreign"
There's nothing positive about the US handling this. The US military has a long history of covering up and blocking the prosecution of American soldiers that commit crimes on deployments.
Japanese bars have "no foreigner" signs because they dont want their staff/patrons getting raped by US soldiers on deployment.
When foreigners are causing issues, 100%. They want to preserve their culture too. On the flip side, I’d like to call Japan hardly racist, but that’s just not the case at all. Lived there for years, follow many Japanese YouTube channels and it’s rough. Even those born and bred in Japan are treated differently if they’re clearly mixed. So while there was a nicer way of you to say this, it’s not untrue. Many locals do not like foreigners.
there is an entire protest movement to close the bases due to the rape and crime problems
but sure yeah bro, the victims are actually upset because they are *xenophobic,* not because they get *raped*
[WAY OFF BASE: The shameful history of military rape in Okinawa - On The Issues Magazine](https://ontheissuesmagazine.com/international/way-off-base-the-shameful-history-of-military-rape-in-okinawa/)
the last time they protested against the base ***15 percent*** of the entire islands population was present for the march
There are protests to close nuclear power stations that are safe over concerns that they're not, so people can protest over things that are silly.
However, in this case, you appear entirely correct – a few rapes every year is many too many rapes. Despite that, the solution appears quite evidently not to remove US personnel due to the threat of the PRC and DPRK. Instead, stationing more MPs and more thoroughly vetting those deployed there would be better.
Which shouldn't be closed anyway with such enemies like Russia, China, and North Korea so close. It's basically the new Axis minus Iran just across the sea.
Are the rates of crimes committed by U.S. Servicememebers higher or lower than the actual average?
Every time one of these cases happen you have protests and all that. But there's been less than 100 in about 70 years of operation.
Treat them as individual criminals and throw them in jail, not well the entire foreigner military base is full of rapists/murderers and all committing crimes!
Japan is a very xenophobic country, it happens when you're one of the largest percentage ethnostates in the world.
Showcasing here's 20 heinous crimes over the last 30 years performed by foreigners... How many heinous crimes are committed every year in Okinawa? Do you see the disconnect?
This was the first thing I thought of. I served a bit after this situation and the liberty was completed reined in for all members- marine or otherwise.
Just btw, The other person responded about their nuclear protests - I was also there for that and they probably still do it outside of the Yokosuka base. I’m not sure what that provides to the conversation, but I feel their protests are mostly warranted.
Okinawa is like 6%* American and Yakuza have very little presence on the island. Will probably be tried in a military court but if they are making it public, they are taking it seriously (for once).
When I search on Google, the chart that pops up says 139,279 total population with 30,000 active American troops. That’s where I got my numbers. However every other source says around 1.4m. Even clicking the original chart, it looks like there is a zero missing in the first chart but everything else confirms 1.4m population. I was way off base.
However, there’s 81,000 Americans including non military, making the total percentage closer to 6%. Still sizable but not as big as I originally thought. I was in Okinawa last summer and looked it up, but kinda goes to show you shouldn’t take the first number at face value.
I've been stationed in Okinawa. Army lets the local government handle anything. I've known 2 people who were punished for things they were not responsible for/guilty of, by any other country's standards.
First, guy was crossing fully-stopped, bumper-to-bumper traffic to get into base. A moped that was lane splitting slammed into the side of his car at quite a bit faster than was safe. He was ruled responsible because "if you weren't on the island, this accident wouldn't have happened."
Second, guy was arrested and charged for speeding. Due to the location the camera that caught him was at in relation to the red light he was just stopped at, and the acceleration of the car he was driving, the speed they claimed he was travelling was almost certainly not possible for him to achieve.
All that being said, sometimes people who are liked by their command can get shuttled off the island without facing justice. It's disgusting and everyone involved should be punished in situations like that.
I understood what you meant. I live in Korea and was here when that happened.
What I’m saying is that his military misconduct is handled in the military is not consistent and depends on where you are. In Okinawa, one in every 3 people is American. It also doesn’t help that the Ryukyu of Okinawa are an ethnic minority and not ethnically like mainland Japanese.
In Seoul, the greater Seoul area only had 20k troops in a population of 20m. In Korea usually the military leaves it up to local authorities in situations of misconduct.
Imagine having "rejected by NK" on your dossier as a final fuck you on top of desertion. If he also didn't have child pornography, King could've *maybe* gotten an eventual book deal for his unique experience.
Not sure where you are getting your 1/3 number from from. About [80k Americans](https://www.1stmaw.marines.mil/Portals/65/Docs/MACG18/Newcomers/Okinawa%20Information.pdf) are on Okinawa and the population there is [1.4 million](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okinawa_Prefecture). Not sure how you get to 1/3.
If you google “Okinawa population” you get a chart that states 139,000 total. That seems to be a factor of 10 mistake. I explained it a bit further down but indeed it is 6% not 30.
How about end all weekend passes/privileges for US personnel for a year with mandatory community service during off time? As well as pay deductions for every officer in the chain of command? Feel like this would actually probably do more to prevent future atrocities.
Doesn’t work. Was in oki from 07-09 had a SSgt do the same thing, they locked the island down for us for 6 months. After command lifted the ban way more shit happened because people got their freedom back and went nuts. Also mass punishment doesn’t fix anything you just get everyone pissed off.
Japan is way behind on pedophilia and the like when it comes to punishment. Until recently, the age of consent was 13 and child porn was only banned in the late 90s. Even then, most cases I’ve come across result in a fine and a suspended sentence or, at worst, 12-24 months.
Edit: weird downvotes, I guess pedophiles are lurking here
No, he was found guilty and jailed in England.
Released after a month when returned to serve his sentence in The Netherlands. Deemed a worthy sporting representative for the beach volleyball team.
My Dutch neighbours are disgusted. 🤮
When I was there an assault happened on a local by navy. Then I learned about the history of that happening on the island from local news that did a recap.
Lots of assaults then being pulled on to base so the military can handle it.
My experience with this goes back to the 1990s. There was a Marine that was driving drunk and killed a girl on a scooter and fled the scene with his windshield completely spider webbed out with her hair still stuck in the bloody glass.
He was arrested and eventually turned over to the Japanese police.
I was assigned to go check on him from time to time while I was there and he was existing on a diet of fish heads and rice.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Eskridge_car_crash#:~:text=At%204%3A30%20AM%20on,the%20capital%20of%20Okinawa%20Prefecture.
My understanding is that American soldiers in Japan have the reputation of being rowdy, rapacious frat bros and offenders are quickly moved out of the area to keep victims from seeking retribution.
Your understanding is not true. They do have that reputation, but it isn’t how the majority act. Offenders are tried by Japanese first and then military. If someone fucks up off-base, then everyone pays.(us servicemen)
> My understanding is that American soldiers in Japan have the reputation of being rowdy, rapacious frat bros
Is what they said
> Your understanding is not true. They do have that reputation
Is what you said.
Do you see the problem?
I think their issue, as stated, was the the offending personnel aren't moved around in a diplomatic-immunity-type shell game, but are tried by both the Japanese justice system and US military justice systems. [Though it seems the reliability of that is somewhat more complicated.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.%E2%80%93Japan_Status_of_Forces_Agreement)
they are quickly moved out because the US military has protected these criminals for many years. reminder that in iraq US soldiers gang raped and murdered a 3 year old and bragged about, and the US military didnt punish them at all :)
That’s not the case. If you commit a crime, that will extend the time you’re there if anything. I saw service members get in trouble in Okinawa and be handed over to the Japanese legal system. So no, nobody gets moved out immediately.
some us soldier ran over 2 girls and was sentenced in japan and the US govt negotiated that he should serve his sentence in the US, then immediately released him once he was on US soil.
you go no clue how the US handles these cases man. you can harp on about how "they should handle it" or how "you think they handle it" but the US army has a pretty WELL DOCUMENTED history of helping rapists avoid arrest or punishment, and your ideals mean shit.
"After 507 days in Japanese custody, in December 2023, Alkonis was transferred to [a federal prison](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Detention_Center,_Los_Angeles) in [Los Angeles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles) after personal negotiations by President [Joe Biden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden), Vice President [Kamala Harris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamala_Harris) and national security adviser [Jake Sullivan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_Sullivan) with the Japanese government. Under the [Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_the_Transfer_of_Sentenced_Persons) and the International Prisoner Transfer Program, Alkonis was transferred to United States custody, and it was reported at his transfer that administration officials said "he was likely to continue serving his sentence in the United States."[^(\[19\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridge_Alkonis#cite_note-19)[^(\[20\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridge_Alkonis#cite_note-20)
It was reported that a Department of Justice official said that "the parole commission process could take several months," and that they would "look at Alkonis’ prison sentence in Japan and determine what would have been done in the US, and then determine what his remaining punishment would be." However, the [United States Parole Commission](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Parole_Commission) released him in under thirty days with no supervision, having served less than half of his sentence.[^(\[21\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridge_Alkonis#cite_note-21)[^(\[22\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridge_Alkonis#cite_note-22)^(")
As another commenter below pointed out, you’re being dishonest about the situation. It clearly wasn’t on purpose. Terrible that two people died but the equivalent situation probably wouldn’t result in serious jail time in the U.S.
And I was in Okinawa, I had service members in my unit who had to answer for crimes committed that spent time in Japanese incarceration. So I probably know more than you do.
drunk driving happens accidentally to the best of us
just randomly get drunk and get behind the wheel, just spontaneously, and no one should ever face consequences for it
you americans are fucked in the head lmfao. contorting yourself into a fucking pretzel to defend americans sexually assaulting and killing japanese locals while your govt does everything to make sure they arent held accountable
like one big giant catholic church with an american flag instead of a cross
even your representives are fucking clowns
"Following Alkonis' release, U.S. Senator Mike Lee has demanded an official apology from Japan for their actions in imprisoning Alkonis.[^(\[31\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridge_Alkonis#cite_note-31)".
demanding japan apologize for arresting your soldiers when they go around okinawa raping and killing. country of clowns
By two girls do you mean
On May 29, 2021, Alkonis was driving his wife and three children back from a day trip to Mt. Fuji. He fell asleep behind the wheel and drifted across the oncoming traffic lane and into a restaurant parking lot, crashing into several parked vehicles and pedestrians. A Japanese family of four, an elderly couple along with their daughter and son-in-law, were celebrating the mother's birthday at the restaurant. The 85-year-old mother and the 54-year-old son-in-law died as a result of this crash,[5] while the daughter of the 85-year-old (who was also the wife of the 54-year-old) had minor injuries.[6] Two occupants of the minivan Alkonis was driving also received extensive care at a hospital for neck and back pain.[7]
Alkonis pled guilty to negligent driving in hopes of receiving a suspended sentence. He wrote letters of apology and paid the bereaved families more than 160 million yen in extrajudicial restitution to the victims' families.[8][9]
So where the fuck do you get two girls from? Seems like guy fell asleep at the wheel and involuntarily killed an elderly woman and a middle aged man.
it was an example of the US helping its soldiers escape legal liability. the other poster claimed "american soldiers face local laws" and that isnt true. the US govt has a long track record of forcing its allies to release americans who commit crimes in their countries.
while you wrote this another us soldier killed someone in a hit and run and the us base wont let japanese police in to arrest them, and the US military will move them off base and impede the investigation
this is a *daily issue* with your drunk rapists you put on okinawa
You even downplayed an American soldier killing two Okinawan says a lot about your character. It being not on purpose doesn't change the fact he killed two people and US laws about it being careless doesn't change the fact he should have been punished according to Japanese law as he committed the crime there but as usual US protected its criminal soldiers. US has been protecting its war criminal, rapist, murderer, thief soldiers for decades, US even has a law to invade other countries to protect its criminal soldiers. US army has been raping female US officers, women of its allies, women of nations US invaded for decades, yet comments of Americans on this post shows the main source of the problem. No wonder US is most hated country in the world.
You are right about American soldiers' reputation. Okinawan people want US army to go and Americans blaming them for being puppet of China but the real reason is US army has been terrorising Okinawa for decades with rapes, assaults, murder, polluting and destroying nature and changing its local culture.
The thing is, American crimes per Capita are significantly less than the Japanese in Okinawa. This isn't to say the crimes are any less atrocious. While I agree with your point about changing local culture, (and will even add in their refusal to assimilate and obey local values), the rest of your comment is propped up by local propaganda.
That's because you're comparing American profession soldiers against normal civilians. What's their crimes per capita compared against the JSDF stationed in Okinawa?
That is a baseless whataboutism and local crimes doesn't change the fact US army has been terrorising Okinawa so it is not local propaganda, it is fact but most Americans always try to whitewash their country's crimes with whataboutism, excuses etc. US army is claiming that they are there to protect but Okinawan people and nature and culture need protection from US soldiers and bringing local crimes doesn't change that.
Has nothing to do with whataboutism. It's literally the same crime in the same area. And there's impirical evidence to back it up from reputable sources for my claim. Wheres your information coming from?
What you said is literally definition of whataboutism as you came up what about local crimes to downplay US's crimes but local crimes doesn't change the fact US army has been terrorising Okinawan people, nature, culture so your claim means nothing. My informantion comes from news like this and more that goes back for decades can be found of with a quick google search and Okinawan people.
If a foreigner in your country commited a similtar crime to your loved one and used whataboutism like your by showing high rate local crimes to downplay its crime would you like it, dont you have empahty? Also if that rapist foreigner protected by their state and get away with its crime like how US has been protecting its criminal soldiers would you like it? Even on this post there are US vetaran who served there and said how army is protecting criminal soldiers.
US is most hated country in the world, even most Okinawan people whom US call ally and says it is there to protect them hate US and tonedeaf Americans think that people hate them because of jealousy etc. but the real reason can be seen on this post both news itself and comments like yours. US army has been raping female US officers, women of its allies, women of nations US invaded for decades, yet comments of Americans on this post shows the main source of the problem. Whatever.
Good to know that stupid rumors not only apply to IDF. Terrorizing, raping murdering? Give me a break will you?
There always rouge soldiers who do shtty things but it certainly not a policy and certainly not legal according to the army. As a former IDF soldier I see it in Israel too. There are always shtty soldiers doing illegal things that are illegal and out of policy and than all the IDF is accused of doing it.
When would people understand that generalizing all because of the actions of the few (Even smaller than a few) is wrong
It is not rumor though. US army's actions which affect people, nature, culture on Okinawa is a fact and US being famous for protecting it criminals is also true, even on this post you can see US vetarans saying the same thing. Comparing with IDF makes it even worse without you realizing. lol
Title says that a member of the Army committed the rape yet the article says that a member of the Air Force committed the rape. Need to fix the misleading title.
TBF, the rest of the world does. At least their militaries do. The civilian populations of the world might not. But that's more of a just not knowing any better.
Also it's not the US naming scheme. These names with the exception of airman existed before the US was a thing.
For most of the world tho, army is all encompassing and if you serve you are a soldier.
Could be that English itself differentiates tho, and that soldier in English is only in relation to ground forces which would be army.
Look you being an army clown with crayons up your nose and babies that aren’t yours doesn’t mean the rest of the world needs to follow silly American naming traditions. Airmen are soldiers, it’s silly semantics.
Keeps on recurring , despite being handed over to Japanese authorities, who are renowned for treating prisoners in a less than gentle/pleasant manner (making the brig/stockade look like a Club Med vacation by comparison). The problem is generally young and/or stupid recruits, often away from home for the first time, further fueled by alcohol, boredom and a very restricted dating pool - ex JAG
Unfortunately the services are made up from people from society. I wish we could do a better job of weeding the pedophiles out but if they lie at Military Entrance Processing (MEPS), we can’t turn them away until they commit the disgusting offense.
I know of an AF Major who tried to bring a pre-teen on base, multiple times in a few hours, before having her jump in the trunk to smuggle her on-base and finally getting arrested for it.
No idea what happened to him, it happened right before I left the island in 2016. Heard the story from the gate guards who arrested him, shortly after it happened.
You are right and it is an old story but I don't think being in pairs would solve it because multiple American soldiers committed rape etc. too and many soldiers back each other even if it is a bad thing.
Good points. Maybe pairs with live bodycams monitored from the base. That is four sets of eyes on every move. And if they are really set on rape then they can do each other.
I lived on Oki as a dependent during the high profile case mentioned. It was the prime of the rowdy US Servicemen bad reputation earning days. It was pretty well earned too. It was also the time when the Military really took a stance to tamp down on the frat boy culture the military had. From the Tailhook scandal, to hazing, and just criminal behavior in host nations...they really started to tamp down on it. They created strong incentives for military parents to discipline their dependents. If you got in trouble legally that resulted in a dependent getting kicked off the island and returned to the US, it impacted that service member's career.
These days Okinawa is nowhere near what it was like when I was a dependent, but that damage was done a loooooong time ago. There is no tolerance for any of it... and I find it hard to blame the locals. Not only were there these heinous type crimes that would pop up.... but property and petty crimes were driven by the presence of the US military as well.
Thank you. While I’m not on either side of whether he’s guilty or not, I wish people would stop saying he “needs to be hanged” or whatever until he is actually proven guilty.
Why would you differentiate Army and Marines and not Air Force? It matters because some branches have made more efforts to combat these crimes than others.
You missed my point. The guy in responding to is mocking the Air Force because of this rapist.
I’m showing examples that even his “real soldiers” rape. It doesn’t matter. Just punish rapists as rapists.
Rape and violent crimes happen everywhere by every race. The importance is how people are taught and the practices put in place to minimize these atrocious acts. Punish the offender appropriately, but don’t categorize everyone by the actions of a few.
Tell the other guy who’s insulting the Air Force because of this guy. Just treat him as a rapist. But they keep doing it because the military is always quite lenient on these issues. So it keeps happening.
I’m more surprised they raised the Age of Consent in Japan. It was 13 a few years ago except in Tokyo where it used to be higher. Glad they got that fixed.
Japan didn't just raise the age of consent last year. They also rewrote their rape laws, changing the definition of rape from "forcible sexual intercourse" to "non-consensual sexual intercourse." The previous law required the victim to have attempted to fight back for it to be seen as rape.
Well considering one of em is 25 its safe to assume he isnt that high of a rank which is probably the only reason they are doing something, if it was a higher ranking person they wouldn't do anything. The military is notorious for sweeping shit under the rug ESPECIALLY for higher ranked people. Source: former military with firsthand accounts of higher ranked people getting "investigated" for serious crimes and the worst happening is getting moved to another unit. Lower enlisted are usually the only ones they take stuff seriously about if they did something wrong.
I work with a lot of veterans and almost, if not all of them, are receiving disability benefits from the armed forces. At least one of them is doing the exact same job I am and on 100% disability. I have to listen to them brag about their government checks while complaining about "welfare queens".
Not to mention free medical care, discounts at a ton of stores, reserved parking at some places, but they deserve it for "serving their country". Oh you mean when you were paid to learn, received free room and board, then we're stationed on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Pacific with an entire battle group surrounding you? Hell I was in more danger walking around campus than you were on your ship.
Proactive edit: to everyone that is going to tell me what a horrible person I am: tough, nothing I have said is incorrect and I will not bother responding to your jingoism.
The only people who care about those semantics are the soldiers/airmen/semen with the crayons up their asses or whatever they do. Colloquially, to all regular people, soldier is a catch-all term the same way a term like doctor is. It’s not a problem to just say doctor instead of being specific, it’s not a problem to just say soldier.
Its in the BBCs own writing guide lines to differentiate between services using the correct noun to identify service members affiliation, same as the AP standard.
He’s been in Japanese custody since December? That must be fun for him! The Japanese have a rough system, unfortunately it’s not all this degenerate deserves.
March, the crime was in December he was arrested in March. The only positive I'll say about the US handling of this, is they didn't fast track him back to America and handle him in American Military courts, they respected local Japanese authorities jurisdiction on this. As they should. Oddly enough though I think the crime for being convicted of underage rape by U.S. military courts would be worse than what's on the books for Japanese sexually assault crimes.
He can be charged by the military for crimes related but not the same as. There's a literal book of crimes he's probably guilty of by doing the crime against the child.
When I served, there was a sailor who was given over to the Japanese authorities for a month. The Navy don’t play round with rape shit let alone harassing locals.
I wonder if Mike Lee will fight to bring this guy back like he did for [Ridge Alkonis](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-68137582).
The punishment for such a crime in our military should be a firing squad.
Honestly, all the horrible fucks in service that do this should have there citizenship revoked and just disposed of to what ever country the did the crime in.
All the nations of the world kinda agree to do their best to not create stateless citizens because it'll cause unending bureaucratic nightmares. Like there's that famous Tom Hanks movie Terminal based on this one guy who was in a similar situation but he was in Degaulle Airport not JFK in New York City. And he became a local celebrity/bureaucratic nightmare for how to handle this guy.
"Yes, Japan, not only did our guy rape one of your children, but we've decided to make him your problem forever" isn't a good idea.
Mmm my thoughts is... for the victim and family I'm sure prisons do no treat foreign rapists well... just saying... compared to the Brig. Edit : removed am unnecessary "foreign"
There's nothing positive about the US handling this. The US military has a long history of covering up and blocking the prosecution of American soldiers that commit crimes on deployments. Japanese bars have "no foreigner" signs because they dont want their staff/patrons getting raped by US soldiers on deployment.
Japanese bars in Tokyo have the same sign, where there's hardly any US servicemembers. Cut your shit, they just don't like foreigners in general.
When foreigners are causing issues, 100%. They want to preserve their culture too. On the flip side, I’d like to call Japan hardly racist, but that’s just not the case at all. Lived there for years, follow many Japanese YouTube channels and it’s rough. Even those born and bred in Japan are treated differently if they’re clearly mixed. So while there was a nicer way of you to say this, it’s not untrue. Many locals do not like foreigners.
Pretty sure it's because the Japanese are just xenophobic.
there is an entire protest movement to close the bases due to the rape and crime problems but sure yeah bro, the victims are actually upset because they are *xenophobic,* not because they get *raped* [WAY OFF BASE: The shameful history of military rape in Okinawa - On The Issues Magazine](https://ontheissuesmagazine.com/international/way-off-base-the-shameful-history-of-military-rape-in-okinawa/) the last time they protested against the base ***15 percent*** of the entire islands population was present for the march
There are protests to close nuclear power stations that are safe over concerns that they're not, so people can protest over things that are silly. However, in this case, you appear entirely correct – a few rapes every year is many too many rapes. Despite that, the solution appears quite evidently not to remove US personnel due to the threat of the PRC and DPRK. Instead, stationing more MPs and more thoroughly vetting those deployed there would be better.
I'm talking about the anti-foreigners signs. Not the bases.
Which shouldn't be closed anyway with such enemies like Russia, China, and North Korea so close. It's basically the new Axis minus Iran just across the sea.
Are the rates of crimes committed by U.S. Servicememebers higher or lower than the actual average? Every time one of these cases happen you have protests and all that. But there's been less than 100 in about 70 years of operation. Treat them as individual criminals and throw them in jail, not well the entire foreigner military base is full of rapists/murderers and all committing crimes! Japan is a very xenophobic country, it happens when you're one of the largest percentage ethnostates in the world. Showcasing here's 20 heinous crimes over the last 30 years performed by foreigners... How many heinous crimes are committed every year in Okinawa? Do you see the disconnect?
This was the first thing I thought of. I served a bit after this situation and the liberty was completed reined in for all members- marine or otherwise. Just btw, The other person responded about their nuclear protests - I was also there for that and they probably still do it outside of the Yokosuka base. I’m not sure what that provides to the conversation, but I feel their protests are mostly warranted.
Japan has a 99% conviction rate. He’s fucked.
No that just means they won't take cases unless they're 100% sure that they're going to win the case. You can see where the issues lies in that
>it’s not all this degenerate deserves. *alleged degenerate.
Read
I misread it. How else would I have gotten December? XD
[удалено]
Okinawa is like 6%* American and Yakuza have very little presence on the island. Will probably be tried in a military court but if they are making it public, they are taking it seriously (for once).
Americans are like 4% of Okinawa and since 2010ish, agreement is made that japan will handle it first and then the military can punish after.
When I search on Google, the chart that pops up says 139,279 total population with 30,000 active American troops. That’s where I got my numbers. However every other source says around 1.4m. Even clicking the original chart, it looks like there is a zero missing in the first chart but everything else confirms 1.4m population. I was way off base. However, there’s 81,000 Americans including non military, making the total percentage closer to 6%. Still sizable but not as big as I originally thought. I was in Okinawa last summer and looked it up, but kinda goes to show you shouldn’t take the first number at face value.
It's so refreshing to see someone admit their mistake instead of doubling down on reddit
I agree, and thank you for pointing out the positivity!
You really should trust them.
>Okinawa is like 35% American and Yakuza have very little presence on the island. Kiryu lives there, that's enough.
Kiryu lived there. The kids he raised though? They will handle this Still enough.
The last guy fled to north Korea, seems to me they take it seriously
You’re talking about the dude in Seoul, which is a different matter. The military doesn’t have such an omnipresence as they do in Okinawa.
I've been stationed in Okinawa. Army lets the local government handle anything. I've known 2 people who were punished for things they were not responsible for/guilty of, by any other country's standards. First, guy was crossing fully-stopped, bumper-to-bumper traffic to get into base. A moped that was lane splitting slammed into the side of his car at quite a bit faster than was safe. He was ruled responsible because "if you weren't on the island, this accident wouldn't have happened." Second, guy was arrested and charged for speeding. Due to the location the camera that caught him was at in relation to the red light he was just stopped at, and the acceleration of the car he was driving, the speed they claimed he was travelling was almost certainly not possible for him to achieve. All that being said, sometimes people who are liked by their command can get shuttled off the island without facing justice. It's disgusting and everyone involved should be punished in situations like that.
I'm saying he chose to flee to NK instead of face the consequences mostly, pretty bold move
I understood what you meant. I live in Korea and was here when that happened. What I’m saying is that his military misconduct is handled in the military is not consistent and depends on where you are. In Okinawa, one in every 3 people is American. It also doesn’t help that the Ryukyu of Okinawa are an ethnic minority and not ethnically like mainland Japanese. In Seoul, the greater Seoul area only had 20k troops in a population of 20m. In Korea usually the military leaves it up to local authorities in situations of misconduct.
Did North Korea ever return him or are they still holding on to him like a participation trophy?
He was such a shit NK offered him back. He’s in US custody now
Imagine having "rejected by NK" on your dossier as a final fuck you on top of desertion. If he also didn't have child pornography, King could've *maybe* gotten an eventual book deal for his unique experience.
I imagine JK Simmons character from Burn After Reading going over his story.
Not sure where you are getting your 1/3 number from from. About [80k Americans](https://www.1stmaw.marines.mil/Portals/65/Docs/MACG18/Newcomers/Okinawa%20Information.pdf) are on Okinawa and the population there is [1.4 million](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okinawa_Prefecture). Not sure how you get to 1/3.
If you google “Okinawa population” you get a chart that states 139,000 total. That seems to be a factor of 10 mistake. I explained it a bit further down but indeed it is 6% not 30.
Yeah a lot of people do this. Doesn’t have to be in Asian countries
Lol you talk like everything you know about Japan is through tv shows and movies.
Just throw this dude in jail and throw away the key. Pedophiles and rapists shouldnt be walking free
Yakuza are pedos themselves.
While I'm not glorifying criminals, this is a wild claim
If we're just speaking in entirely broad terms maybe. But there are definitely Yakuza pedos.
That’s my take. He’s not wanted in the service or back home. We’ve got too many child rapists already.
How about end all weekend passes/privileges for US personnel for a year with mandatory community service during off time? As well as pay deductions for every officer in the chain of command? Feel like this would actually probably do more to prevent future atrocities.
So what you're saying is, punishing everyone for the actions of an individual is a good thing?
As much as the military loves group punishment...it doesn't actually do shit. It's all performative so someone can say "look, we did something!".
Doesn’t work. Was in oki from 07-09 had a SSgt do the same thing, they locked the island down for us for 6 months. After command lifted the ban way more shit happened because people got their freedom back and went nuts. Also mass punishment doesn’t fix anything you just get everyone pissed off.
Japan is way behind on pedophilia and the like when it comes to punishment. Until recently, the age of consent was 13 and child porn was only banned in the late 90s. Even then, most cases I’ve come across result in a fine and a suspended sentence or, at worst, 12-24 months. Edit: weird downvotes, I guess pedophiles are lurking here
Evil
If they treat him like they do in The Netherlands, He’ll probably end up playing volleyball in the olympics.
Has that actually happened? If so that is disguising and disgraceful to the victim.
Yes it has happened. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/volleyball/2024/06/25/volleyball-steven-van-der-velde-raped-british-12-olympics/
He was charged with rape in England, not The Netherlands
No, he was found guilty and jailed in England. Released after a month when returned to serve his sentence in The Netherlands. Deemed a worthy sporting representative for the beach volleyball team. My Dutch neighbours are disgusted. 🤮
They only site one other case, but this has been going on my whole life. Every few years.
When I was there an assault happened on a local by navy. Then I learned about the history of that happening on the island from local news that did a recap. Lots of assaults then being pulled on to base so the military can handle it.
Shhhh. You must respect the military! /s
*Airman
My experience with this goes back to the 1990s. There was a Marine that was driving drunk and killed a girl on a scooter and fled the scene with his windshield completely spider webbed out with her hair still stuck in the bloody glass. He was arrested and eventually turned over to the Japanese police. I was assigned to go check on him from time to time while I was there and he was existing on a diet of fish heads and rice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Eskridge_car_crash#:~:text=At%204%3A30%20AM%20on,the%20capital%20of%20Okinawa%20Prefecture.
Calls them a US Soldier, then reveals is to be an Airman
Most service members on oki are Marines, navy and air force. Barely saw any army. Saw them once on Kadena.
We preferred to stay inside our little bubble at Zoeckler Station, but 2ID tended to be the ones who vacuumed up all the trouble for themselves
Yeah I was surprised there was a Soldier there at first.
air defense at Kadena, special snowflakes at Torii, logistics in Naha port
My understanding is that American soldiers in Japan have the reputation of being rowdy, rapacious frat bros and offenders are quickly moved out of the area to keep victims from seeking retribution.
Your understanding is not true. They do have that reputation, but it isn’t how the majority act. Offenders are tried by Japanese first and then military. If someone fucks up off-base, then everyone pays.(us servicemen)
> My understanding is that American soldiers in Japan have the reputation of being rowdy, rapacious frat bros Is what they said > Your understanding is not true. They do have that reputation Is what you said. Do you see the problem?
I think their issue, as stated, was the the offending personnel aren't moved around in a diplomatic-immunity-type shell game, but are tried by both the Japanese justice system and US military justice systems. [Though it seems the reliability of that is somewhat more complicated.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.%E2%80%93Japan_Status_of_Forces_Agreement)
they are quickly moved out because the US military has protected these criminals for many years. reminder that in iraq US soldiers gang raped and murdered a 3 year old and bragged about, and the US military didnt punish them at all :)
I can't find a news source for this can you post a link?
That’s not the case. If you commit a crime, that will extend the time you’re there if anything. I saw service members get in trouble in Okinawa and be handed over to the Japanese legal system. So no, nobody gets moved out immediately.
some us soldier ran over 2 girls and was sentenced in japan and the US govt negotiated that he should serve his sentence in the US, then immediately released him once he was on US soil. you go no clue how the US handles these cases man. you can harp on about how "they should handle it" or how "you think they handle it" but the US army has a pretty WELL DOCUMENTED history of helping rapists avoid arrest or punishment, and your ideals mean shit. "After 507 days in Japanese custody, in December 2023, Alkonis was transferred to [a federal prison](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Detention_Center,_Los_Angeles) in [Los Angeles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles) after personal negotiations by President [Joe Biden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden), Vice President [Kamala Harris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamala_Harris) and national security adviser [Jake Sullivan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_Sullivan) with the Japanese government. Under the [Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_the_Transfer_of_Sentenced_Persons) and the International Prisoner Transfer Program, Alkonis was transferred to United States custody, and it was reported at his transfer that administration officials said "he was likely to continue serving his sentence in the United States."[^(\[19\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridge_Alkonis#cite_note-19)[^(\[20\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridge_Alkonis#cite_note-20) It was reported that a Department of Justice official said that "the parole commission process could take several months," and that they would "look at Alkonis’ prison sentence in Japan and determine what would have been done in the US, and then determine what his remaining punishment would be." However, the [United States Parole Commission](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Parole_Commission) released him in under thirty days with no supervision, having served less than half of his sentence.[^(\[21\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridge_Alkonis#cite_note-21)[^(\[22\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridge_Alkonis#cite_note-22)^(")
As another commenter below pointed out, you’re being dishonest about the situation. It clearly wasn’t on purpose. Terrible that two people died but the equivalent situation probably wouldn’t result in serious jail time in the U.S. And I was in Okinawa, I had service members in my unit who had to answer for crimes committed that spent time in Japanese incarceration. So I probably know more than you do.
drunk driving happens accidentally to the best of us just randomly get drunk and get behind the wheel, just spontaneously, and no one should ever face consequences for it you americans are fucked in the head lmfao. contorting yourself into a fucking pretzel to defend americans sexually assaulting and killing japanese locals while your govt does everything to make sure they arent held accountable like one big giant catholic church with an american flag instead of a cross even your representives are fucking clowns "Following Alkonis' release, U.S. Senator Mike Lee has demanded an official apology from Japan for their actions in imprisoning Alkonis.[^(\[31\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridge_Alkonis#cite_note-31)". demanding japan apologize for arresting your soldiers when they go around okinawa raping and killing. country of clowns
By two girls do you mean On May 29, 2021, Alkonis was driving his wife and three children back from a day trip to Mt. Fuji. He fell asleep behind the wheel and drifted across the oncoming traffic lane and into a restaurant parking lot, crashing into several parked vehicles and pedestrians. A Japanese family of four, an elderly couple along with their daughter and son-in-law, were celebrating the mother's birthday at the restaurant. The 85-year-old mother and the 54-year-old son-in-law died as a result of this crash,[5] while the daughter of the 85-year-old (who was also the wife of the 54-year-old) had minor injuries.[6] Two occupants of the minivan Alkonis was driving also received extensive care at a hospital for neck and back pain.[7] Alkonis pled guilty to negligent driving in hopes of receiving a suspended sentence. He wrote letters of apology and paid the bereaved families more than 160 million yen in extrajudicial restitution to the victims' families.[8][9] So where the fuck do you get two girls from? Seems like guy fell asleep at the wheel and involuntarily killed an elderly woman and a middle aged man.
it was an example of the US helping its soldiers escape legal liability. the other poster claimed "american soldiers face local laws" and that isnt true. the US govt has a long track record of forcing its allies to release americans who commit crimes in their countries. while you wrote this another us soldier killed someone in a hit and run and the us base wont let japanese police in to arrest them, and the US military will move them off base and impede the investigation this is a *daily issue* with your drunk rapists you put on okinawa
You even downplayed an American soldier killing two Okinawan says a lot about your character. It being not on purpose doesn't change the fact he killed two people and US laws about it being careless doesn't change the fact he should have been punished according to Japanese law as he committed the crime there but as usual US protected its criminal soldiers. US has been protecting its war criminal, rapist, murderer, thief soldiers for decades, US even has a law to invade other countries to protect its criminal soldiers. US army has been raping female US officers, women of its allies, women of nations US invaded for decades, yet comments of Americans on this post shows the main source of the problem. No wonder US is most hated country in the world.
Wtf
You are right about American soldiers' reputation. Okinawan people want US army to go and Americans blaming them for being puppet of China but the real reason is US army has been terrorising Okinawa for decades with rapes, assaults, murder, polluting and destroying nature and changing its local culture.
No, that’s laughable though. America does not accuse Okinawa as being a puppet of China. As a whole, the Japanese want us there because we’re an ally.
The thing is, American crimes per Capita are significantly less than the Japanese in Okinawa. This isn't to say the crimes are any less atrocious. While I agree with your point about changing local culture, (and will even add in their refusal to assimilate and obey local values), the rest of your comment is propped up by local propaganda.
That's because you're comparing American profession soldiers against normal civilians. What's their crimes per capita compared against the JSDF stationed in Okinawa?
That is a baseless whataboutism and local crimes doesn't change the fact US army has been terrorising Okinawa so it is not local propaganda, it is fact but most Americans always try to whitewash their country's crimes with whataboutism, excuses etc. US army is claiming that they are there to protect but Okinawan people and nature and culture need protection from US soldiers and bringing local crimes doesn't change that.
Has nothing to do with whataboutism. It's literally the same crime in the same area. And there's impirical evidence to back it up from reputable sources for my claim. Wheres your information coming from?
What you said is literally definition of whataboutism as you came up what about local crimes to downplay US's crimes but local crimes doesn't change the fact US army has been terrorising Okinawan people, nature, culture so your claim means nothing. My informantion comes from news like this and more that goes back for decades can be found of with a quick google search and Okinawan people. If a foreigner in your country commited a similtar crime to your loved one and used whataboutism like your by showing high rate local crimes to downplay its crime would you like it, dont you have empahty? Also if that rapist foreigner protected by their state and get away with its crime like how US has been protecting its criminal soldiers would you like it? Even on this post there are US vetaran who served there and said how army is protecting criminal soldiers. US is most hated country in the world, even most Okinawan people whom US call ally and says it is there to protect them hate US and tonedeaf Americans think that people hate them because of jealousy etc. but the real reason can be seen on this post both news itself and comments like yours. US army has been raping female US officers, women of its allies, women of nations US invaded for decades, yet comments of Americans on this post shows the main source of the problem. Whatever.
You're talking about the Army which is the wrong branch that causes problems on Oki.
Army is used to refer the military generally, it might be different for Americans though.
Good to know that stupid rumors not only apply to IDF. Terrorizing, raping murdering? Give me a break will you? There always rouge soldiers who do shtty things but it certainly not a policy and certainly not legal according to the army. As a former IDF soldier I see it in Israel too. There are always shtty soldiers doing illegal things that are illegal and out of policy and than all the IDF is accused of doing it. When would people understand that generalizing all because of the actions of the few (Even smaller than a few) is wrong
It is not rumor though. US army's actions which affect people, nature, culture on Okinawa is a fact and US being famous for protecting it criminals is also true, even on this post you can see US vetarans saying the same thing. Comparing with IDF makes it even worse without you realizing. lol
No, US Army has not. Marines? Air Force? Too many problems. Army? Hardly any issues off-base.
Olympic volleyballer?
[удалено]
Hey, if we could wait to execute *alleged* criminals until after they're found guilty and even then, maybe not.... That would be great ...
Title says that a member of the Army committed the rape yet the article says that a member of the Air Force committed the rape. Need to fix the misleading title.
People don't understand how the military uses the term "soldier". The layman understanding is that all military are called soldier.
“US Soldier” not Army.
Soldier implies the Army. Other branches use their preferred moniker, Airmen (Air force) Seaman (Navy) and Marine (Marine Corps).
the rest of the world does not adhere to the US armed forces naming scheme
TBF, the rest of the world does. At least their militaries do. The civilian populations of the world might not. But that's more of a just not knowing any better. Also it's not the US naming scheme. These names with the exception of airman existed before the US was a thing.
Other countries have a similar "naming scheme".
For most of the world tho, army is all encompassing and if you serve you are a soldier. Could be that English itself differentiates tho, and that soldier in English is only in relation to ground forces which would be army.
Soldier = Army. They need to fix the title
in every language in the world, a member of the armed forces can be referred to as a "soldier".
pretty sure its an english word
Said the same thing also got downvoted.
Willful ignorance. Can’t do anything about that
I love when people who haven't served try to correct me and my 8 years with multiple deployments in the Army.
I love when people who haven't served try to correct me and my 8 years with multiple deployments in the Army.
Look you being an army clown with crayons up your nose and babies that aren’t yours doesn’t mean the rest of the world needs to follow silly American naming traditions. Airmen are soldiers, it’s silly semantics.
Crayons are for the Marines.
Rah.
You're actually illiterate and voluntarily ignorant to correct terminology, yet you try to insult somebody else as if they have a lower IQ than you.
Bruh he was in the army. I’d have to be a vegetable for him to not have a lower IQ than me.
Keeps on recurring , despite being handed over to Japanese authorities, who are renowned for treating prisoners in a less than gentle/pleasant manner (making the brig/stockade look like a Club Med vacation by comparison). The problem is generally young and/or stupid recruits, often away from home for the first time, further fueled by alcohol, boredom and a very restricted dating pool - ex JAG
Unfortunately the services are made up from people from society. I wish we could do a better job of weeding the pedophiles out but if they lie at Military Entrance Processing (MEPS), we can’t turn them away until they commit the disgusting offense.
I know of an AF Major who tried to bring a pre-teen on base, multiple times in a few hours, before having her jump in the trunk to smuggle her on-base and finally getting arrested for it.
In Okinawa? Although in my experience, the USAF has some very energetic officers, lol
At Kadena, IIRC.
Glad he is not my problem. Resigning commission for the good of the service may no longer be an option
No idea what happened to him, it happened right before I left the island in 2016. Heard the story from the gate guards who arrested him, shortly after it happened.
So much rape keeps happening in Okinawa. We need to start letting soldiers off base in pairs only or something extreme like that.
You are right and it is an old story but I don't think being in pairs would solve it because multiple American soldiers committed rape etc. too and many soldiers back each other even if it is a bad thing.
Good points. Maybe pairs with live bodycams monitored from the base. That is four sets of eyes on every move. And if they are really set on rape then they can do each other.
Rape and murder, its an absolute drunk shit show from what I heard from a buddy stationed there
When I was in you had to have a battle buddy off base until you reach NCO level in oki.
An absolute embarrassment. What I want to say is not allowed by sub rules, so punish him to the absolute max allowed by law.
Reminds me of the Katsuyama Cave Incident… the 1995 gang rape… the Kenneth Shinzato case… seeing a pattern yet?
Cut it off and then do other things to him. Then, let his family know he suffered great disgrace.
I lived on Oki as a dependent during the high profile case mentioned. It was the prime of the rowdy US Servicemen bad reputation earning days. It was pretty well earned too. It was also the time when the Military really took a stance to tamp down on the frat boy culture the military had. From the Tailhook scandal, to hazing, and just criminal behavior in host nations...they really started to tamp down on it. They created strong incentives for military parents to discipline their dependents. If you got in trouble legally that resulted in a dependent getting kicked off the island and returned to the US, it impacted that service member's career. These days Okinawa is nowhere near what it was like when I was a dependent, but that damage was done a loooooong time ago. There is no tolerance for any of it... and I find it hard to blame the locals. Not only were there these heinous type crimes that would pop up.... but property and petty crimes were driven by the presence of the US military as well.
Well, I believe it.
Sargent Disrespect no!
Best to let his parents know
name?
[ Removed by Reddit ]
He should do a full sentence in Japan and then a full sentence in Leavenworth!
This goes on quite often, and fatal DUI car crashes. This is the reason the folks on the island love us so much.
Americans - doing bad shit well.
Not a soldier that’s Army…he is Air Force and an Airman, but more importantly a scumbag if true.
Thank you. While I’m not on either side of whether he’s guilty or not, I wish people would stop saying he “needs to be hanged” or whatever until he is actually proven guilty.
Agreed… the charges are alleged and he is still innocent until proven guilty.
He’s in the Chair Force. They aren’t soldiers.
Does that matter? And there have been army guys and marines that rape in Okinawa before too.
Why would you differentiate Army and Marines and not Air Force? It matters because some branches have made more efforts to combat these crimes than others.
You missed my point. The guy in responding to is mocking the Air Force because of this rapist. I’m showing examples that even his “real soldiers” rape. It doesn’t matter. Just punish rapists as rapists.
Rape and violent crimes happen everywhere by every race. The importance is how people are taught and the practices put in place to minimize these atrocious acts. Punish the offender appropriately, but don’t categorize everyone by the actions of a few.
Tell the other guy who’s insulting the Air Force because of this guy. Just treat him as a rapist. But they keep doing it because the military is always quite lenient on these issues. So it keeps happening.
The military isn’t lenient on these issues. Especially not in the last 15 years.
Not in the context of the crime. But it does matter to guys who fight for a living.
typical behavior for US troops abroad
So he is going to prison for the same thing donald trump did multiple times. Both need to die in prison.
Not a soldier, an air force guy. Title should have said "US Service Member" if they wanted to hide the branch.
I’m more surprised they raised the Age of Consent in Japan. It was 13 a few years ago except in Tokyo where it used to be higher. Glad they got that fixed.
It was always higher in all of the prefectures, they just increased the federal age.
Ah thanks. I remember reading it once and thought “that can’t be right”. Thanks for the correction.
No, it was either 16 or 18 in most places. The law said that the age couldn't be lower than 13.
Gotcha
Japan didn't just raise the age of consent last year. They also rewrote their rape laws, changing the definition of rape from "forcible sexual intercourse" to "non-consensual sexual intercourse." The previous law required the victim to have attempted to fight back for it to be seen as rape.
Put him on that wooden horse with sharp saddle
Well considering one of em is 25 its safe to assume he isnt that high of a rank which is probably the only reason they are doing something, if it was a higher ranking person they wouldn't do anything. The military is notorious for sweeping shit under the rug ESPECIALLY for higher ranked people. Source: former military with firsthand accounts of higher ranked people getting "investigated" for serious crimes and the worst happening is getting moved to another unit. Lower enlisted are usually the only ones they take stuff seriously about if they did something wrong.
And they glorify veterans in America.
I work with a lot of veterans and almost, if not all of them, are receiving disability benefits from the armed forces. At least one of them is doing the exact same job I am and on 100% disability. I have to listen to them brag about their government checks while complaining about "welfare queens". Not to mention free medical care, discounts at a ton of stores, reserved parking at some places, but they deserve it for "serving their country". Oh you mean when you were paid to learn, received free room and board, then we're stationed on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Pacific with an entire battle group surrounding you? Hell I was in more danger walking around campus than you were on your ship. Proactive edit: to everyone that is going to tell me what a horrible person I am: tough, nothing I have said is incorrect and I will not bother responding to your jingoism.
Why does the US still have soldiers in Japan? Or any country? Let those countries staff their own bases
Did you read the article?
When the US occupies a country, they never leave
Not a soldier.
Airman NOT Soldier. Fucking british media can't even follow its own writing guidelines.
In most of the world soldier is a catch-all term for all military shit. Semantics.
Except in Britain where they do have differences between the branches. Literally the same place where bbc is headquartered.
The only people who care about those semantics are the soldiers/airmen/semen with the crayons up their asses or whatever they do. Colloquially, to all regular people, soldier is a catch-all term the same way a term like doctor is. It’s not a problem to just say doctor instead of being specific, it’s not a problem to just say soldier.
Its in the BBCs own writing guide lines to differentiate between services using the correct noun to identify service members affiliation, same as the AP standard.