Japan Presses US on Discipline After Second Marine Arrest

Japan has urged the United States to enforce discipline among its troops after a second US Marine was arrested, this time on suspicion of drink driving during a curfew, Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on Monday (Nov 2), AFP reported.

The arrest, which media reports said took place on Saturday (Oct 31), follows the case of another Marine accused of murdering a woman on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa. Details about the second Marine, including his name, were not given in the report.

Koizumi asks US to take it seriously

Koizumi told reporters that Tokyo had requested that the US side “strictly enforce discipline among its personnel”. He added that Japan wanted Washington to treat the latest incident seriously.

Curfew followed Okinawa murder case

US forces on Okinawa were barred from drinking alcohol for two days early in October and placed under a 30-day curfew after the woman’s death. The curfew required all troops to be back on base or at an off-base residence between midnight and 5am.

Last week, Japanese prosecutors indicted the Marine accused in that case. Citing the indictment, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the 20-year-old suspect allegedly strangled the woman, who was from Naha, with a telephone cord in a hotel on Oct 3. The case has triggered outrage in Japan and revived controversy over the heavy US military presence on Okinawa.

Days after the woman’s death, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told lawmakers the government had lodged a strong protest with the United States, calling for full cooperation with the investigation and strict discipline among US military personnel.

Second Marine arrest and rules review

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi has previously said officials were reviewing the off-base code of conduct for US troops in Japan following the alleged killing. Existing rules, updated in 2024 after a string of sexual assaults by US personnel on Okinawa, ban servicemembers from drinking in public off base, or going to bars, between 1am and 5am.

The United States has about 54,000 military personnel stationed in Japan, most of them on Okinawa, and crimes by US troops have long been a source of friction between the two security allies.

#latestmalaysia

Masked Gunmen Leave Canadian Family Seriously Injured During Home Invasion