Tokyo
CNN
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Japanese prosecutors have charged a US Air Power member with allegedly kidnapping and raping an underage woman simply earlier than Christmas final 12 months, Okinawa police confirmed to CNN on Wednesday.
Brennon R. E. Washington, 25, was indicted on March 27 on costs of “non-consensual sexual activity” and “indecent kidnapping,” a court docket spokesperson in Naha, Okinawa’s capital, advised CNN, including that the US army handed the serviceman over to the Japanese authorities on the identical day.
Washington was launched on bail and transferred to the Kadena US Air Base in Okinawa for custody, in keeping with a authorities spokesperson. His trial will start July 12, in keeping with the Naha District Courtroom spokesperson.
The court docket’s spokesperson advised CNN they don’t have any particulars concerning the airman’s authorized illustration.
The prosecution comes at a time when Washington and Tokyo are deepening their army alliance – partially as geopolitical tensions rise with each China and North Korea.
The alleged rape is the newest in a historical past of felony instances involving US personnel in Okinawa, residence to one of many largest US overseas army bases, and will exacerbate tensions with residents who’ve lengthy opposed the presence of American troops and weaponry on the island.
The presence of V-22 Ospreys, a tiltrotor army plane, have additionally been a daily supply of anger and protest in Okinawa following a sequence of latest crashes and noise complaints.
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki advised reporters Tuesday the allegations of rape and kidnap had been “extraordinarily regrettable,” including it was essential “to strongly protest towards the US army and different associated organizations.”
The governor additionally mentioned his workplace will “take a tricky stance in coping with the scenario.”
Washington, the indicted serviceman, was stationed with the 18 Logistics Readiness Squadron on the Kadena Air Base in Japan, in keeping with the US Air Power, which confirmed his rank and repair report to CNN.
“The 18th Wing is conscious of a sexual assault allegation towards a Kadena Airman involving a Japanese citizen,” 18th Wing Spokesperson, 1st Lt. Alvin G. Nelson III, advised CNN Wednesday.
“We perceive and share the area people’s considerations concerning this case,” Nelson mentioned, including that Wing management was “deeply involved by the severity of this alleged crime,” and has been working with native authorities to research the allegations.
“All US service members are anticipated to uphold the very best requirements, and the US army is dedicated to holding accountable those that are convicted of felony acts,” the Wing spokesperson mentioned.
The indictment comes practically 30 years after three US servicemen raped a 12-year-old Okinawa schoolgirl in 1995, sparking a backlash towards the US army on the island.
In 2016, the rape and homicide of a 20-year-old girl by a former US base employee in Okinawa triggered mass protests within the island’s capital, with tens of hundreds of residents demanding the US transfer its bases exterior of Okinawa. The fallout resulted in curfews for US personnel on the island.
In one other crime involving US personnel in Japan, a US Navy officer killed two Japanese nationals whereas driving down Mount Fuji in 2021.
Masataka Okano, Japan’s Vice Minister for Overseas Affairs, known as for stricter self-discipline and lodged a protest with the US Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, on March 27, the day Washington was indicted, in keeping with the Japanese Overseas Ministry.
CNN reached out to the US Embassy in Japan, which mentioned it was conscious of the case however won’t remark. The embassy advised CNN in a telephone name to contact Kadena Air Base, the place Washington was primarily based, for data on the case. CNN has contacted Kadena Air Base for remark.
Japan and the US have a mutual protection alliance and a many years previous army partnership that has solely been deepened lately by regional threats, notably North Korea and an ever extra assertive China.
US President Joe Biden met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at Camp David in August 2023 in a present of solidarity and drive towards Beijing.
In what Biden hailed as a “new period of cooperation,” the three powers dedicated to a yearly trilateral summit, intelligence sharing and annual army workouts.
