Press Releases
VM Okano made request to U.S. Ambassador Emanuel
July 5, 2024
On July 5, at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Okano Masataka, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, met the Honorable Rahm Emanuel, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States to Japan, commencing from 1.30 p.m. for approximately 15 minutes following the recent prosecutions and arrests of US military personnel for sexual related crimes in Okinawa. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
- At the beginning, Vice Minister Okano expressed extreme regret over the recent prosecutions and arrests of US military personnel for sexual related crimes in Okinawa in the recent months. Mr. Okano stated that the recurrence of these incidents are detrimental to the trust of the US Forces Japan vis-a-vis local communities. Mr. Okano urged the U.S. side to strengthen discipline within US Forces Japan and to take concrete and meaningful measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. Furthermore, Mr. Okano, taking into account the request from local communities, stated that the Government of Japan wishes to continue to discuss concrete measures to strengthen discipline and prevent the occurrence of these incidents, including sexual related incidents with the U.S. side.
- Ambassador Emanuel responded that he is seriously concerned by recent allegations against US military personnel and expressed deep regret for the anxiety they have caused local communities. The Ambassador reaffirmed U.S. commitment to cooperate with local authorities in support of the investigations into these allegations and hold accountable those convicted. He also committed to work closely with the Government of Japan to ensure U.S. personnel maintain the highest standards of behavior and conduct in support of our mutual security. The Ambassador also stated that these allegations, if true, do not reflect the values of the thousands of U.S. service members who serve honorably in Japan. We can do better. We will do better. We must do better. It is clear the protections we have in place are insufficient. We are not meeting the standards we set for ourselves and the standards that we hold for the community. We need to do better and fix this fast. We need to focus on training and education. As a former mayor, I know the importance of communication with local residents. We will continue to work with local authorities in a transparent fashion.
- Both sides agreed to continue to work closely with each other on the issue.