Blinken, Austin discuss US forces' impact on Japanese people amid cases of sexual assault

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Top officials from Washington and Tokyo Sunday discussed the impact of some 50,000 US forces on local communities in Japan amid cases of sexual abuse.

Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara of Japan hosted their US counterparts Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin for the so-called 2+2 meeting in Tokyo.

The meeting came amid rising cases of sexual assault by the US forces deployed in Japan.

At least five such cases came to fore in recent weeks, and the local government in Okinawa has accused the US side of withholding the information related to such incidents.

Around 50,000 US troops have been deployed in Japan under a bilateral security pact since the end of World War II in 1945, roughly half of them in Okinawa, where most of the sexual abuse cases were reported.

According to a readout from Tokyo following the 2+2 meeting, the two sides discussed “US Force Posture, from the perspective of mitigating the impact on local communities including (in) Okinawa.”

Tokyo asked Washington for “safe operations of the US forces with utmost consideration to the impacts on local communities, appropriate responses to incidents and accidents, including sharing information in a timely manner, and cooperation on environmental issues.”

The two sides welcomed the efforts to be implemented by US Forces Japan to “prevent unacceptable incidents and behavior,” the statement said.

After the sexual abuse cases came to fore last month, Japan said the cases of sexual assault in the country involving US forces “cannot be tolerated.”

The Pentagon had regretted that sex crimes were committed by the American soldiers on Japanese soil and said US Defense Secretary Austin was closely monitoring developments.​​​​​​

- Relocation of US Marines​

About the relocation of US Marines within Okinawa, the two sides underlined “importance of accelerating bilateral work toward the total return of Marine Corps Air Station in Futenma as early as practicable, including the construction of the Futenma Replacement Facility at Henoko.”

Despite opposition from the native population, Japan is working to relocate the US military base within Okinawa province.

​​​​​​​Currently, the US base is located in a crowded residential district in Ginowan and Tokyo wants it to be transferred to the less populated Henoko coastal area of Nago under an agreement signed in 1996.

Okinawa hosts the bulk of US military facilities in Japan and locals have long opposed the relocation of the base. They have demanded the government shift the base out of the province.

The statement added that Japan and the US confirmed the relocation of Marine Corps personnel from Okinawa to Guam beginning this year.​​​​​​​