(Update) Japan Govt to Consider Better Info Sharing with Okinawa

   Tokyo, July 2 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government will consider better information-sharing with Okinawa Prefecture about sexual crime cases involving U.S. military personnel stationed in the southernmost prefecture, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Tuesday.
   "Relevant ministries and agencies will discuss what can be done so local people won't feel anxiety," Hayashi told a press conference. But he also noted that victims' privacy and the possible impact on investigations will be taken into account.
   At a separate news conference the same day, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said her ministry will consult over the matter with other ministries and agencies concerned as well as investigative authorities.
   Those comments came in response to a flood of complaints from people in Okinawa and others that the central government failed to act quickly to inform local officials of recent sexual offense cases involving U.S. servicemen in the prefecture, where U.S. military bases are highly concentrated.
   An airman was indicted in March on the charges of kidnapping and raping a girl in December last year, and a Marine was prosecuted last month for attempting to sexually assault and inuring a woman in May.

(2024/07/02-22:37)

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