Okinawa governor calls for review of US forces pact after murder of Japanese woman

TOKYO: The governor of Okinawa said on Monday (Nov 9) he would request a review of a pact seen as giving the US military preferential treatment in Japan, following a murder allegedly committed by an American Marine.

Prosecutors indicted the Marine last month on suspicion of murdering a 39-year-old Japanese woman at an Okinawa hotel, in a case that triggered outrage and reignited controversy over the US military presence on the southern island.

The United States has about 54,000 military personnel stationed in Japan, mostly on Okinawa, and crimes committed by its personnel have been a thorn in relations between the close security allies.

"I'll call for a fundamental review of the SOFA," said Okinawa governor Genta Koja, referring to the 1960 Japan-US Status of Forces Agreement which critics say has rendered US military bases virtually extraterritorial and immune to Japan's domestic laws.

Under the accord, US military authorities have the primary right to investigate and punish service members in Japan when they are on official duty.

Critics say this arrangement has sometimes blocked indictments by Japanese investigators, while the extraterritoriality of the US bases has deterred Japanese authorities from probing suspected soil pollution around them.

Lawmakers in Okinawa adopted a resolution last month calling for revisions to the pact, which will soon be submitted to the US embassy.

"After every incident or accident involving US military service members or civilian employees, Okinawa has repeatedly lodged strong protest with the US military and the governments of both Japan and the United States," Koja told a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.

The alleged murder "was an extremely heinous crime that has caused great anxiety amongst residents of Okinawa", he said.

Koja, who was elected governor in September, is the first Okinawa leader in 12 years who has approved of a contentious US military base relocation plan.

The central government's plan is to keep the US Marine Corps' Futenma air base on Okinawa's main island, but move it to a less populated location.

Koja said on Monday he would seek the "swift return" of lands used by the US military in Okinawa's commercial centre under a 2013 agreement, which he said will help boost the local economy.

The review of the pact should include "prompt compliance with requests from the Japanese side to transfer suspects in detention prior to indictment and adoption of Japanese laws such as the aviation act to the US military", he said.

Japan and the United States agreed on Friday to measures aimed at preventing crimes by US service members on Okinawa, including holding talks on community relations and Japan's legal system.

US officials also said on Friday they would extend for some service members a 30-day curfew imposed after the woman's murder to Dec 7.