UNITED STATES FORCES, OKINAWANS YET TO MEET UNDER NEW FORUM OVER ASSAULT CASES - TOKYO

UNITED STATES FORCES, OKINAWANS YET TO MEET UNDER NEW FORUM OVER ASSAULT CASES - TOKYO 

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

TOKYO

The U.S. military in Japan has yet to convene a new forum it announced in July to enhance cooperation with the Okinawa government and local residents, following alleged sexual assault cases involving its service members in the southern island prefecture.

The schedule for holding the first meeting is unclear, with the topics and participants also not decided.

Okinawa Gov Denny Tamaki told a press conference Thursday that "final confirmation" of issues to be discussed is planned in mid-November.

U.S. Forces Japan, headquartered at Yokota Air Base in the suburbs of Tokyo, said in a written statement to Kyodo News that it hopes to develop a framework that can help "address shared concerns and improve information sharing."

"This effort is complex and may take some time to jointly coordinate," it said.

When the initiative was announced on July 22, USFJ Commander Lt Gen Ricky Rupp said the "new forum of cooperation" would be launched in coordination with Japan's central government and would "serve as a venue for the constructive exchange of ideas in the pursuit of shared goals."

The Okinawa government hopes the new forum will produce effective steps to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

Okinawa Prefecture hosts the bulk of U.S. military facilities in Japan, and anti-base sentiment runs deep due to aircraft noise, pollution and crimes committed by American service members.

Earlier this year, locals were angered after the Japanese central government failed to report alleged sexual assault cases involving U.S. military members.

Two cases came to light in late June -- one involving a U.S. Air Force serviceman indicted in March for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting a minor and another involving a U.S. Marine arrested in May on suspicion of attempted rape resulting in injury.

Speaking about the new forum, an Okinawa prefectural assembly member said, "It is important that the U.S. military shows remorse."

A U.S. military source, meanwhile, expressed concern that the forum will become an arena to face one-sided accusations.

A working-level team for preventing incidents and accidents by U.S. service members, consisting of officials of Japanese and U.S. governments as well as municipalities in Okinawa, has also not met since April 2017. The team was established in 2000.

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