Okinawa governor wants SOFA amended to give Japan the lead to investigate and prosecute
Ridge Alkonis, Navy Lieutenant, was sentenced to three years in in a Japanese prison for manslaughter. After returning with his family from Mount Fuji, he lost control of his vehicle and hit pedestrians. Two Japanese citizens died as a result of the collision. The U.S. tried to get him to be released to serve the balance of his sentence in the U.S., but to no avail. The governor of Okinawa believes that the Status of Forces Agreement should be amended to allow Japan to take the lead to investigate and prosecute crimes. The U.S. Military currently has first refusal rights.
From the Military Times:
The current agreement allows the military justice system the right of first refusal for investigating and prosecuting U.S. troops who are suspected of committing off-base crimes in cases where the service member has violated both the Uniform Code of Military Justice and Japanese law.
But, the governor of Okinawa prefecture, which hosts 50,000 U.S. troops, believes the Japanese justice system deserves to take the lead.
“We have been asking, or requesting, to amend the status of forces agreement to give the primary right to investigate to the Japanese side, when incidents or accidents takes place in Okinawa or in Japan, by amending the status of forces agreement,” Gov. Denny Tamaki, through an interpreter, said during a Defense Writers Group event on Wednesday.
The current agreement allows the military justice system the right of first refusal for investigating and prosecuting U.S. troops who are suspected of committing off-base crimes in cases where the service member has violated both the Uniform Code of Military Justice and Japanese law.
The U.S. government ceded its jurisdiction to Japan in Alkonis’s case. The officer lost control of his car and struck several pedestrians following a trip with his family to Mount Fuji in May 2021.
The accident resulted in the deaths of two Japanese citizens. A Japanese court convicted him of negligent driving and sentenced him to three years in prison in October of that year, upholding that conviction after a July appeal hearing.
But his family ? including his wife Brittany Alkonis, who attended the 2023 State of the Union address in February as a guest of Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark. ? has argued that the officer was suffering from delayed altitude sickness at the time of the accident and that the Japanese judge disregarded a doctor’s diagnosis in court.
The Military Times has the rest of the story.
Category: International Affairs, Military issues, Navy
“…the governor of Okinawa prefecture, which hosts 50,000 U.S. troops…”
Why are still in Okinawa? Why are we still in Japan?
The last time we were stationed in Japan, we were responsible for NEO.
🙄🤔
Uh two things you might have heard of, North Korea and China. They aren’t that far away and neither is the ocean area that China is trying to take control over.
Yep.
NEO.
Did tours in Korea and Japan, so am very aware of China and North Korea.
The USA is not the only rodeo in town.
We are tired of being the World’s Police Force.
Let someone else take care of Okinawa and Japan. They don’t appreciate our presense?
Then we need to leave.
The Governor of Okinawa Prefecture?
His name is Denny Tamaki.
“He was born in 1959 to an Okinawan mother and an American father who was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps and left Okinawa before he was born.”
“Tamaki has never met his father, and his mother remained single throughout his youth and destroyed most materials related to his father.Tamaki searched for his father, but was unsuccessful in locating him. Although Tamaki rarely discusses his American background, he describes himself as embodying Okinawa’s predicament as a host for United States military personnel.”
“Tamaki has long been opposed to the U.S. military presence on Okinawa. In 2009, Tamaki called for a sharp reduction in American troop strength on Okinawa, stating that “it’s about time the Japanese government let Okinawa go back to its original self” and “we need to wean our economy from its dependence on the bases.”
“In June 2019, Tamaki stated that Chinese patrols near the disputed Senkaku islands (administered by Japan as part of Okinawa Prefecture) should not be bothered, which critics questioned if Tamaki thought they were not Japanese territory. Tamaki responded by taking back his statement and expressed that he was misunderstood.”
Turd must be a socialist democrat.
Sounds like you agree with him- the US should get out of Okinawa.
My view is that China is a threat to US interest, and we are the only power that can counter them. To do so we will need bases in the Pacific, and Okinawa is one of them.
Regardless, maybe our troops should, I don’t know, stop raping people there and the chain of command should stop letting them get away with it.
https://theintercept.com/2021/10/03/okinawa-sexual-crimes-us-military/
Someone has Daddy issues and of course, mixed race folks (kids) in Okinawa AND Japan are treated like dirt as Non citizens. Talk about racism. Asians are even racist against other Asians…like Okinawans get pissy if you refer to them as Japanese, they’re Okinawans. Kinda like Puerto Ricans being called Americans or Aussis being compared to Brits.
NEO! UGGH! As the 17th Area Support Group Director of Security, Plans, and Operations [S3] I ran the Emergency Operations Center and had to run two NEO exercises …. in additon to writing the NEO Plan.
I feel your pain!
Yep! NEO! You know exactly what we are talking about…😉😎
The majority of us lived at Sagamihara Housing Area and drove to Camp Zama everyday (Keep Left..Keep Left!🤭)
When we PCSed to the US, we had to retrain ourselves (Keep Right! Keep Right!🫡)
Still remember those GIANT Ravens in that AOR…😊
We also did numerous TDYs to Okinawa and had the pleasure of working with the Marines and the 10th Support Group.
We thought the humidity was bad in Guam…Okinawa beats it!
Thank You for sharing, rgr1480!
In my day you drove on the right side of the road.
But only on Oki, right; not mainland Japan?
Right
LEFT!!!!!!!
Hi, akpual…
Are you speaking of Mainland Japan/Camp Zama?
When we were there, we drove on the left side.
Thank You for sharing!
Okinawa in 1969
My office was on South Camp Zama in an old converted army kendo dojo.
We also lived in Sagamihara Family Housing from 1990~1994…. wonderful experience for almost 5 years.
I thought Tokyo-vicinity humidity was bad — but perhap Okinawa does top that. I was on Oki for only a week at White Beach.
Cheers!
— me (almost wrote my name!)
rgr1480:
That is SO cool!!
We came after you left, close to the late 1990s. General Reimer paid us a visit when he was Chief of Staff of the US Army.
Thank You for sharing the map with the location of where you worked!
Found this clip of Sagamihara Housing.
And it shows cars driving on the left…😉😎🤭
https://youtu.be/qJqEqSpSWsg
The Army Is A Small World!
Ninja,
That.Was.So.Cool!!!!
Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane.
The Governor of Okinawa seems to have forgotten who won the war.
^^^This.
Testify! Strange how that worked out. Maybe someone should dig up the archived footage of that ceremony held on “Big Mo” and re-broadcast it…you know…as a reminder. Sympathies to the families of the citizens that were killed in this accident, but we’re not sure of “the rest of the story”. I don’t know what the current agreements are, but back yonder we told the troops that if they did some dick stepping off post that they would be prosecuted by both the military AND the civil authorities. Mannheim (?) was full of dumbasses.
How much $ is spent on the local economy by our troops and anyone think that it wouldn’t be missed if we were gone? One might suggest we move all of those troops to Guam but that might cause Guam to tip over. Ask Hank what he thinks.
“Mannheim (?) was full of dumbasses.”
“Old Coleman Stockade”, or “OCS” as we used to call it. Never had the pleasure of attending, myself, even though I was (some say still am) a bit of a dumbass. Came close, once or twice.
At least Guam is American.
Tell that the postal employees working near Stately Stone Manor. Hack dropped off a package to mail to Rosetta Stone’s sister in Guam. They insisted that a Customs Declaration was required.
Only driver on the road with “altitude sickness”?
One of the symptoms, ironically, can be insomnia. Although fatigue and dizziness are listed, I didn’t find passing out or sudden unconsciousness in any list of symptoms.
I had a hard time sleeping at the 9th station when I climbed Fuji (12,389 ft). After that, whenever I climbed in the Japanese Alps I always took sleeping pills. I could sleep, but it was a restless sleep. I never had acute AMS.
… but what I had was very uncomfortable.
https://academic.oup.com/jtm/article/23/4/taw024/2748105
I had it once at Carson after spending several days in the mountains when we got back to town I had spots in front of my eyes to the point where I could not see to drive. Became light headed and had the wife drive us home. Only had it once though.
Hack Stone had to drive up to Philly for his aunt, Sharon Stone. He left the world corporate headquarters in Bethesda real early Saturday morning, picked up one of his brothers and one of his sisters and went to the funeral and reception afterwards. No alcohol consumed, but Hack was less than optimal due to the lack of sleep. He had one of the comedy channels on the Satellite radio, and there was a segment of Norm MacDonald on how serial killers can meet a girlfriend. Laughed so hard that Hack passed out and almost wrecked the car.
Norm MacDonald is definitely an acquired taste.
I am not sure what your comment has to do with altitude sickness. I know that Philly is higher up than Bethesda on a map, but I am sure you know that in the real world the actual altitude is pretty much the same–thus, no altitude sickness involved in travel between the two.
Not that it matters; injecting Norm MacDonald into the conversation is a positive thing. Thanks for the grins.
This admin is stupid enough to OK it.
The Governor of Okinawa Prefecture?
His name is Denny Tamaki.
“He was born in 1959 to an Okinawan mother and an American father who was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps and left Okinawa before he was born.”
“Tamaki has never met his father, and his mother remained single throughout his youth and destroyed most materials related to his father.Tamaki searched for his father, but was unsuccessful in locating him. Although Tamaki rarely discusses his American background, he describes himself as embodying Okinawa’s predicament as a host for United States military personnel.”
“Tamaki has long been opposed to the U.S. military presence on Okinawa. In 2009, Tamaki called for a sharp reduction in American troop strength on Okinawa, stating that “it’s about time the Japanese government let Okinawa go back to its original self” and “we need to wean our economy from its dependence on the bases.”
“In June 2019, Tamaki stated that Chinese patrols near the disputed Senkaku islands (administered by Japan as part of Okinawa Prefecture) should not be bothered, which critics questioned if Tamaki thought they were not Japanese territory. Tamaki responded by taking back his statement and expressed that he was misunderstood”.
It is VERY obvious as to why Tamaki has been opposed to US Military presense on Okinawa.
It’s called “PROJECTION”…
“Tamaki was born in 1959 to an Okinawan mother and an American father who was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps and left Okinawa before he was born.”
“Tamaki has never met his father, and his mother remained single throughout his youth and destroyed most materials related to his father.Tamaki searched for his father, but was unsuccessful in locating him.”
That was no doubt a drunk fuck on BC street.
Wow! He had to have been world class drunk!
Oh. My GOD….Nah, there’s no way I could be Danny’s Father. The Mamasan, I started out with one evening that looked like this let off a string of swear words and kicked me to the curb and got me a younger Okasan who had some kind of super mojo and just about KO’d me in 30 seconds.
But I digress about 40 years.
Nah, Denny was born in 1959 and I wasn’t even on Oki until 1984…..now, I could have met his good old Mom by THEN….more digressing. maybe his sister???
Oh whatever.
Have a good weekend.
The Okinawans still have a hardon for the US regarding that whole WW2 thing. They fall all over themselves taking our money but hate everything about us. When the 3rd MarDiv left Oki for Guam there was a lot of gnashiing of teeth over it.
Okinawa was a smelly shithole when I was there, and I doubt it has changed much. We need to get everybody off that rock and leave them to fend for themselves.
So, don’t drive to Mount Fuji. Got it.
Let me rephrase that. Do not drive to any mountain over……10,000 feet? 8,000?