Marine general bows in apology to Okinawa

The remarkable act of contrition is for an incident in which a Marine allegedly molested a young girl.

©New York Times

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 7, 2000

TOKYO -- The top U.S. military official in Okinawa apologized profusely Thursday for an incident on Monday in which a U.S. Marine allegedly entered a private residence on the southern Japanese island and sexually molested a 14-year-old girl.

In a remarkable display of remorse, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Earl B. Hailston visited Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine at the prefecture government's office to make a formal apology, which included a Japanese bow of contrition. The general was accompanied by the U.S. consul-general of Okinawa, Robert Luke.

Government officials said it was the first time a senior U.S. military official had made such a direct apology, despite numerous cases of violence and sexual misconduct involving U.S. soldiers stationed in Okinawa in recent years.

The general's apology is seen as an effort to smooth relations with the people of Okinawa, who have held angry rallies and protests over the incident in recent days, in advance of a summit meeting of world leaders that President Clinton is scheduled to attend this month on the island.

"I want to express to the family involved, as well as to the people of Okinawa, my sincerest apology and most profound regret for the incident and for the anxiety it has created," said Hailston, who is the regional coordinator for U.S. military forces in Okinawa.

"The relationship of a Marine leader to his subordinate Marines is like the relationship of a father to his children; these Marines are my sons and daughters," the general said. "That is why it hurts me deeply when any of my Marines appears to fall short of the standard I have set and demand. It hurts me, as it hurts you, my neighbors."

The general's remarks underscore the widespread fear and concern that exists in Okinawa over sex crimes committed by U.S. troops stationed there since World War II. Japanese and Western historians have said that in the aftermath of the war, U.S. troops raped thousands of Okinawan women without reprisals. The historians said that while hundreds of rape cases have been documented, most went unreported for fear of retaliation and shame.

Outrage against the U.S. military in Okinawa reached a peak in 1995 when islanders held massive protests after three U.S. servicemen were convicted of kidnapping and raping a 12-year-old Japanese girl.

Hailston's apology Thursday was also exceptional because the accused Marine has not yet been charged with a crime, although he remains in Okinawa police custody. The 19-year-old Marine, whose name has been withheld because he is a minor under Japanese law, is accused of breaking into the junior high school girl's home and touching her body while she slept early Monday morning.

After the girl's mother reported the incident to police, the Marine, who is stationed at the Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of trespassing and conducting an indecent act against a minor.

Law enforcement officials said that the Marine was drunk during the incident and that he had told the police he meant to visit a friend's house but entered the girl's residence by mistake, the New York Times reported. The officials said the door to the home was unlocked, as is the custom of many Okinawans. Police said the Marine has denied molesting the girl. Evening newspapers in Okinawa reported Thursday that the girl had told the police that the Marine had touched her face and body and climbed on top of her.

Since Monday's arrest, labor unions, peace activists, women's rights groups and human rights organizations have rallied near U.S. bases and sent letters of protest to the prefectural government. Some local city mayors canceled their scheduled appearances at a Fourth of July celebration held at the U.S. consulate in Okinawa.

The general's comments appear to have done little to quell growing outrage in Okinawa over the incident, which could prove extremely embarrassing to Clinton, who is scheduled to attend the summit meeting of the G-8 nations July 21 to July 23.

Protest leaders vowed to hold follow-up demonstrations and to use this latest incident to stir anti-base sentiment. The Peace Action Center Okinawa, a group of union and progressive party activists, plans to form a human chain around the Kadena Air Base in Okinawa on July 20, the eve of the summit meeting.

"Distrust and frustration of Okinawan people against the American military has never been higher," said Eiji Miyahira, a member of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly, which passed a resolution condemning the incident. The Okinawa police have asked the U.S. military to impose a curfew and ban on drinking alcohol outside bases late at night.

Near the end of World War II, Okinawa was the site of a fierce battle between Japanese and U.S. soldiers in which more than 200,000 people, including civilians, were killed. Under the 1951 peace treaty, Okinawa was placed under the authority of the U.S. military, which established vast bases on the island. Okinawa reverted to Japanese rule in 1972, but the U.S. bases remained.

Okinawans have long complained that noise and vibrations from military aircraft, combat and ammunitions exercises and rude and drunken soldiers jeopardize not only their pastoral way of life but also their safety. Island residents regularly hold massive protests demanding a reduction in the number of U.S. bases, which take up one-fifth of the island's land.

"After the war and after Okinawa reverted back to Japan, we had high hopes that these rapes would stop," said Keiko Itokazu, an Okinawa Prefectural Assembly member. "But now this case happens to this girl in her own house, which is supposed to be the safest place. In Okinawa, women are not even safe to sleep in our own houses. This is unbearable."

Lt. Col. Kurt S. Owermohle, a spokesman for the Marine Corps in Okinawa, said that the U.S. military was cooperating fully with the local police investigation. "We are deeply sorry that an incident such as this has occurred, and the people of Okinawa certainly have a right to be angry over this."

Owermohle said the incident was especially disappointing because the Marine Corps had undertaken numerous educational and leadership efforts in recent years to improve relations between U.S. troops and Okinawans.

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