Two U.S. soldiers in Japan were arrested, smashing people's car doors and illegally armed with knives | Japanese U.S. Army | two
Japanese media reported on the 20th that the Okinawa Prefectural Police arrested two US soldiers stationed in Japan on the 19th and 20th, respectively. One of them is suspected of damaging the door of a stranger's car, while the other is suspected of walking in a residential area with a knife for no reason. These two cases are still under investigation.
Okinawa Prefecture police said that at around 7:10 am on the 20th, a 29 year old soldier stationed at the US military's Kadena base in Japan hit a car door with his fist in a residential parking lot in Kitayama cho, Okinawa Prefecture. The car owner saw this behind the scenes alarm at home, and the police arrested the suspect on the spot. The alcohol test shows that the soldier drank alcohol before the incident.
In the case on the 19th, a 22-year-old soldier from the Putenma base of the US military stationed in Japan was arrested. He is suspected of walking in a residential area without justifiable reasons with a folding knife with a blade length exceeding 7 centimeters, violating relevant laws and regulations. Okinawa Prefecture police said that the US soldier has agreed to plead guilty.
For a long time, there have been frequent safety accidents, noise, and crime issues at US military bases, which have greatly disturbed the local people. On the 15th, Okinawa Prefectural Governor Tani Yucheng said that he plans to give a speech at the United Nations Human Rights Council meeting next month, calling on the international community to support the Okinawan people's demands and reduce the heavy burden borne by the local US military base in Japan.
In addition, the US military stationed in Japan has also been exposed to pollution issues. A survey released by Okinawa Prefecture last month showed that water bodies in 30 locations around the US military base in Okinawa were found to exceed the standard for perfluorinated and perfluoroalkyl substances. The Okinawa Prefectural Government is calling on nearby residents not to drink water from these locations to avoid endangering their health. A survey released by a citizen group in the county in February this year showed that approximately 40% of residents living around the US military base in Okinawa had abnormal blood test results.