Yesterday's News: Guilty of rape. . . now what?

As some of my readers may already be aware, late last year two men were accused of raping and robbing an Okinawan woman in her early 20's. These two men, both active duty military members, were temporarily stationed in Okinawa for a training mission. The event took place the night before they were scheduled to depart.

Following the accusation of rape the US Forces Japan were put into a nation wide curfew and drinking ban. Although this move by the US was controversial it was not the first time that something like this has happened and was arguably less severe then in 2008 (if my memory serves me correctly) when US Forces in Okinawa were on complete lock down. (During this lock down military and civilians alike were not permitted in any off base establishments whatsoever. This included but was not limited to stores, shops, tourist attractions or restaurants.) This also did not stop the string of incidents which would follow.

The situation also pushed many of Okinawa's residents, who were already upset about the deployment of the Osprey and relocation of Futenma within Okinawa, over the edge. The message at the already frequent protests was not only "Marines Go Home" and "No Osprey" but now included "No Rape".

Those who serve in the military, and their families, also had their share to say about the situation. Although there were a great deal of people outraged and disgusted by these two men there were also a surprising amount who defended them. This was not limited to currently active military members on Okinawa either. One ex-military member who was never stationed in Okinawa and now lives in mainland Japan even went so far as to make a YouTube video which placed blame on the victim.

After a short while, and the occurrence of more crimes committed by US Military Members, the story fell from the front page and became a tag line at the end of related articles until recently.

 



 

The Trial

The two men, Christopher Browning and Skyler Dozierwalker, were tried in a Naha court where they were charged as guilty of rape. During the trial prosecutors noted that Dozierwalker choked the victim from behind and forced her into a parking lot where she was then raped. This was confirmed by surveillance camera footage, presented as evidence, which caught the act on film. Christopher Browning was sentenced to ten years in prison and Skyler Dozierwalker was sentenced to nine years. Christopher Browning was also convicted of robbing the victim of 7000 yen (at today's yen rate just under $75.00 US) Both men will serve their time in a Japanese prison.

Now What?

This incident shook Okinawa and for many I am sure that it is a relief that these men have been tried and will serve time in prison. I am, however, of the opinion that there is more that needs to be discussed before this story turns into a distant memory.

I can't help but wonder what is being done to prevent crimes like this from happening in the future. Are military members and their families really even aware of the consequences for their actions? To be honest I am not entirely sure and the military doesn't have a very straight forward approach to these types of matters either. Just go ahead and check out the UCMJ. You'll see that the consequence for an act of rape is:

"shall be punished as a court-martial may direct".

What does that mean? Well that's a great question. In fact as we're seen in the case of some female service members being raped by their superiors it could mean just about anything or nothing. According to an article on this subject by the Air Force Times in November 2012:

"Military courts often have great flexibility in sentencing. . "

The article goes on to say that a military member who has been found guilty of rape could be fined or have a reduction in pay but ultimately committing this type of crime isn't a career ender.

It is this answering questions without actually providing answers approach which I believe gives some military members and their families the illusion of being above or exempt from Japanese law. AFN Radio and TV are always showing ads about how you could be charged under the UCMJ but usually forget to mention that you could also be charged under Japanese Law. In fact reading about the Browning/Dozierwalker case there was only one out of about twenty articles that I read which mentioned that they will be serving time in a Japanese prison.

Only Time Will Tell 

Unfortunately what happens next will only be told as time passes. My hope, although it might be wishful thinking, is that some changes be made. The sad reality is that with the rotation of people and management in and out of Okinawa will undoubtably put this story out of sight, out of mind until the two are released ten years from now.

Yesterday's News: Japanese "flock" from Fukushima to Okinawa

I have not made a current events blog or vlog for a while but after the continuous posting of this story and having had received comments and messages regarding the current state of Okinawa as a result of this story I could not help myself. 

Before I get into the story itself let's go back to March 11 2011. For those of you who are not already familiar this was the date when a huge earthquake shoot the northern part of Japan and resulted in a devastating tsunami. The tsunami then resulted in a nuclear disaster in an area known as Fukushima. Many people lost their lives as a result of the horrible disaster and radiation concerns caused many people to leave their homes in the area. Many other people in the surrounding areas also became concerned and decided to relocate as a precaution. These people relocated to various areas throughout the country to include the southern islands of Okinawa. Again, this started in 2011 after the disaster. 

Now fast forward to December 2012. The AP (which was the first place I saw the story released although I am also aware that The Japan Times also released it as well) releases a story which it titled "Radiation-averse evacuees flock to Okinawa". The article, which pictured a young mother and her beautiful son, goes on explaining about how Okinawa is as far south from Fukushima as you can get and explains about how the prefecture is offering financial assistance to those who have relocated on the island. More information is included such as quotes from the mother and other important details that will be disregarded by many of the readers. 

As I have been living here for as long as I have and keeping up with the news as I do there was not much thought that I invested into the story. Most of what was said was pretty much old news aside from the fact that those who applied for aide by a certain date got another year of assistance from the Okinawa Prefecture. Among others, however, this seemed to be big news. In fact a viewer over on my YouTube channel even went so far as to hound me for not covering the "real story" about what is happening in Okinawa. I took a few weeks to think about what it was that I wanted to say if I wanted to take on the story at all. Now here I am. You're about to read the "real story" of what has been happening here in Okinawa. **Spoiler Alert** you're going to be disappointed. 

First and foremost, as mentioned in the articles, Okinawa is the furthest away from Fukushima as you can get without leaving the country. Couple that with the fact that Okinawa does not have nuclear power and is a very popular vacation destination, then it doesn't seem difficult to understand why some would choose the location to relocate here. The question is how many people are, as the article says "flocking" to Okinawa? According to the article in question "more than 1,000 people". Now what I find interesting about this statement is the the lack of timeframe given during which these people have come down to Okinawa. Common sense and knowledge of the local news tells me that they are referring to the number of people who have come down since 2011 when the disaster first occurred but for the sake of being through I did some research to see what I could come up with. Turns out that they are in fact talking about the total people since 2011. In fact in an article released by The Asahi Shimbun in November of 2012 it was stated that "About 700 Fukushima evacuees still live on Okinawa Prefecture". If we bring this full circle 1000 people moving down to Okinawa over the course of what is about to be 2 years isn't much of a "flock" is it? 

It's also important to understand that a number of people who relocated to Okinawa chose to relocate here. There was never a time where planes full of people from the Fukushima area simply dumped them at the Naha International Airport with nothing but the clothes on their backs and nowhere to go. Some stayed with families and friends and others undoubtably stayed at the many hotels on the island until they could sort out the aid that was available to them from the Okinawa Prefecture. Does this mean that there were no people who came down here without a plan? No. But it is a misconception that people just magically appeared here hopeless and afraid. 

Now, when it comes to the "real story" as to how life has been effected here in Okinawa by these evacuees the answer is simply. . . not at all. There have been no shortages or lack of resources and no overwhelming swarms of evacuees roaming the streets with nowhere to go. Again the number of people who have come down here is relatively insignificant on an island with a population of 1,400,000 people (give or take) not to mention the tourists. The aquarium alone gets about 2.5 million visitors a year. This is not to say that there is absolutely no effect on Okinawa. Certainly the financial assistance that the prefecture if offering will have an effect on the prefecture itself. However, when it comes to the matter of every day life there has been no change or at very least the change has been incredibly minimal. 

As I said it's disappointing isn't it? Most stories are when they are not embellished or when important details which offer context to the story are taken out. Funny how leaving a few words out like "since 2011" can turn a flock into a trickle. Unfortunately that's the nature of the news when things are slow; drudge up what you can to make a headline.