Two U.S. sailors admit raping Okinawan woman

Ok and now where is the guy who commented here on another thread that the woman in question wasn't raped and all the brass in Okinawa and the local police "knew" that she was a hooker and these guys were just in the wrong place at the wrong time?

I hope justice will be served for these two and the fallout to the rest of us gaijins, military or not, will be minimal. In my opinion rapists should rot in jail!!!

This poor woman has to live with what these two scumbags did to her. I hope these two get the full weight of the Japanese justice system brought down on them. Servicemen in Japan, and Asia in general need to learn that they are not a conquering army, able to treat women any way they like for personal satisfaction. They are GUESTS in Japan, and should act accordingly, not like a bunch of louts who can't hold their booze or keep their flies closed!!

I personally had and still have my doubts on the confessions in this case. Plus I have to admit I heard the SAME rumors as well with regards to THIS particular case. I hope the guy who made the comments earlier comes back and updates everyone here with any new information.

Typically speaking cases like this are processed MUCH faster, considering that it has been nearly 5 months since the incident in question and the Japanese police's proficiency in gaining confessions using questionable methods.

If they are guilty, fine let them pay the price. If their confessions were coerced there needs to be a review of the case and the evidence in question.

I believe there is more information out there that the general public is not going to be let in on, and I just hope that all parties involved, the woman, and the two guys as well, get a fair hearing and receive proper council as well!

I feel so sorry for this poor, innocent woman. I can only hope the cowardly beasts who violated her cop 20 years in an Okinawan cell - and then another 20 in the states after deportation

Who ever is to blame,

According to the two sailors, they are.

This is Japan, not China. I wouldn't expect any McDonald's or Starbucks being burned down here in the near future.

may they rot in jail for what they did and for the trouble they have potentially caused the rest of the foreign community.

I'm not worried about our image here in Japan: it's only the victim I'm concerned about. May they rot in jail for destroying a poor woman's life.

Idiots. Just...idiots.

Why the hell does the U.S. Military keeps recruiting people like them?

These guys are in a jury trial and had their first court appearance today. Their verdict is supposed to be announced on March 1st.

They admitted in court that they figured they could get away with the crime because they were scheduled to ship out of Okinawa the day after the rape occurred. Neither of these guys were stationed in Okinawa at the time of the rape.

Who ever is to blame, I hope they are punished.

@Thunderbird2 and Bertie

Servicemen in Japan, and Asia in general need to learn that they are not a conquering army, able to treat women any way they like for personal satisfaction.

That implies just servicemen, when really, it should be "No man should be able to treat any man, woman or child, any way they like for personal satisfaction." Abuse isn't just to women, just the prevailing case, and needs to be stopped.

Thunderbird2,

Servicemen in Japan, and Asia in general need to learn that they are not a conquering army, able to treat women any way they like for personal satisfaction. They are GUESTS in Japan, and should act accordingly, not like a bunch of louts who can't hold their booze or keep their flies closed!!

EXACTLY!

Stars & Stripes reported that the rape was caught on security cameras and lasted 50 mins.

Japan has 99 percent conviction rate and it's comparable to China's rate. I guess if your under duress for 5 months, they will break you down.

Yubaru,

You beat me to the punch.

That is exactly what I was going to write.

And it wasn't just ONE guy, either.

Yoitsu KamijoFeb. 27, 2013 - 06:02AM JST The Japanese government needs to take a step forward to protect the safety and dignity of its citizens.

How could you have a fair trial in Japan especially if your a U.S. servicemen accused of felony in a civilian court? Just like in this Okinawa case, the Japanese judges can be reassigned by the administrative office of the courts if they rule in ways the office does not like and judges may face biased career incentives to convict.The judge who acquit do indeed have worse careers following the acquittal. The punished judges in Japan are not judges who acquitted on the ground that the prosecutors charged the wrong person.

Oh look, more military idiots in their early 20s... if anyone remembers what I said about the majority of these situations being caused by a mixture of alcohol and immature young adults functioning on stupidity and to top it off being restricted under military grind? Its so hard to find people who function with wisdom and common sense nowadays.

But that's a little under .9% of all crimes committed by US servicemen in Japan (which includes Okinawa).

Sorry that sentence should read: But that's a little under .9% of all crimes committed in Japan. US servicemen in Japan (which includes Okinawa) commit less than 1% of the crimes in the whole country.

YuriOtani...if it was a slam dunk case, why did the investigation take almost a half year? Maybe there were problems with her story. Maybe there were character problem of the victim?

That's why they offered/sold Okinawa to Amercan.

Somebody has their history wrong here. Okinawa was taken by the US during WWII, the US gave Okinawa back to Japan in 1972. It was neither "offered" nor "sold".

This is Japan, not China. I wouldn't expect any McDonald's or Starbucks being burned down here in the near future.

or worse, this ain't any country in the middle east. i wouldn't expect any american flags or effigies to be burned down here in the near future.

like American military blaming the victim.

No one is "blaming" the victim. However the Japanese justice system has been known to prosecute both foreigners and Japanese as well on faulty (no) evidence and coerced confessions. That's a fact.

These guys however were caught on video it appears, but why then if the police had this evidence of obvious guilt has it taken nearly 6 months for it to proceed to trial? Something right there is fishy at best.

Let them serve as an example to other Americans thinking about rape.

This is nonsensical, if we are to accept your logic and idea here than the 96' rape should have been enough, or the one after that, or the one's previous to it, but no that doesnt work.

Back on topic please.

Just curious, but has the race of the servicemen been publicized?

Does it matter? Ever notice that the article above doesnt mention it either. I've seen pictures of the guys on TV as they were taken into the Naha Court Building but I am not going to comment or assume race based upon those pictures alone.

if it was a slam dunk case, why did the investigation take almost a half year? Maybe there were problems with her story. Maybe there were character problem of the victim?

Quite so, typically speaking cases that would have that much actual evidence, a video of the event, would have been prosecuted much, much faster. Heck there were other cases that happened months after that are already finalized.

Yubaru

Just curious, but has the race of the servicemen been publicized?

Does it matter? Ever notice that the article above doesnt mention it either

I also don't think their race matters. They both should receive maximum punishment under Japanes law. My "Just curious" comment was in response to another post which appeared to infer the servicemen would get off if they were of a certain race. .

This is part of an epidemic. The US bases in Okinawa do no one any good. The Okinawan people are not happy and the G.I. Joes are not happy. Get rid of the damn bases. If US military presence in the area is so necessary let the US use Guam as their base and modify whatever needs to be modified (the US military can afford it).

Let them serve as an example to other Americans thinking about rape.

Sadly, it won't. All these rape cases have had alcohol as a contributing factor. Who here can honestly say people think clearly when they are drunk? Previous convictions in the newspaper do not deter someone under the influence.

This is part of an epidemic.

Hardly. I posted previously on this and the mods deleted it for some reason. The summary of what I posted was that there were 127 rapes in Okinawa by U.S. personnel in the 37 years between 1972 and 2009. During that time span there had been about 312,000 U.S. personnel stationed in Okinawa, total. That works out to only about .04% of the U.S. personnel who had been stationed in Okinawa as being rapists. .04% does not equate to "an epidemic".

This situation feels like a blackmail.

This lady could easily frame this guys on false charges..knowing they will be arrested and could be squeezed for a big payout....during detention before trial....your Japanese lawyer will ask you "How much money can you pay or your family can pay to have this matter resolved or have the charges reduced??".....if you have deep pockets and willing to shell out 50 million yen or 1000 million yen in this case...these guys might just walk out the door with the charges dropped...or at least receive a very mild prison sentence.

This lady could easily frame this guys on false charges..knowing they will be arrested and could be squeezed for a big payout.

Rape cases usually require forensic evidence to support the victim's claims. Add to that the fact that these guys were apparently caught on a security camera committing the assault, and I think you can rest easy about the woman committing some kind of scam on these guys. They did it, they confessed, and they'll now pay the penalty - twice.

Once the Japanese Justice System is through with them, they'll have to face the U.S. Military Justice System. Needless to say, their military service will be terminated after all disciplinary actions have been taken and they'll probably be given a dishonorable discharge. It doesn't sound like much, but it follows them around the rest of their lives. They will in all likelihood not acknowledge their military service as part of job interviews because then they would be expected to provide their discharge status. That huge hole in their work history is going to prevent getting any but the most menial of jobs.

When you teach a group of young and uneducated men to kill other human beings in the worse possible ways

Oh this is just bunk! A very sorry attempt at justifying the horrible acts done by these two men .

My Yuriko prediction is they get 5 years and serve 3 to 4. A very long time in a Japanese prison

The prosecutors are recommending sentences of 10 and 12 years respectively, and the sentence will be announced tomorrow afternoon.

Foolish idiots that did this to her...if she was 100% innocent. Also I would like to state....they admitted to rape...yes but this still does not change the fact that she may have accepted a payment and not gone through with it...I'm not saying its okay with what they did but she if she got herself into this should receive some sort of punishment for this. If she was involved in the "luring" of these soldiers...she is partly to blame. If it was outright raping then she should be let off with no punishment.

Once the Japanese Justice System is through with them, they'll have to face the U.S. Military Justice System. Needless to say, their military service will be terminated after all disciplinary actions have been taken and they'll probably be given a dishonorable discharge.

In theory, it may be true. Back in 1995, there was a12 yrs old was suffered that cruel fate like that. She was even treated worse than current victim.

The servicemen convicted that crime got a sentence lighter than feather. No wonder 1995 has recycled again in 2012.

Admit? Or confessed uder 5 months of duress? But if they are guilty, may they rot in jail for what they did and for the trouble they have potentially caused the rest of the foreign community.

I'm not worried about our image here in Japan: it's only the victim I'm concerned about. May they rot in jail for destroying a poor woman's life.

Im not worried about image either. Im more concerned with retaliatory actions - innocent people being victmised or worse because of local peoples understandable anger.

Only 17 comments on "US" sailors news?!

I hope justice will be served fast.

sfjp330 like American military blaming the victim. Failing that slandering the victim. These sailors are going to Japanese prison. Let them serve as an example to other Americans thinking about rape.

LoghornFeb. 26, 2013 - 11:57PM JST

Idiots. Just...idiots.

Why the hell does the U.S. Military keeps recruiting people like them?

That is simple because the Jails in the USA are full.

When you teach a group of young and uneducated men to kill other human beings in the worse possible ways, that is kind of a side effect on the society which host these aggressors. The important point which needs to be review is what purpose does these troops serve? Its mainly to get young American's off the unemployment stats.

Caught on Camera, even in this thread people wrote the confessions were by force. They should get 5 years in Japanese jail. Not as much as in the west but 5 years in a Japanese prison is hard time. There is no weight rooms, no TV, no anything to make them comfortable. These rapists are going to be punished. When they are returned to the Navy the best they will receive is the "big chicken dinner". They have thrown it all away. When civilians nobody decent will give them a job.

Yubaru please read the other posters messages. They are blaming her and still say the sailors were framed. My Yuriko prediction is they get 5 years and serve 3 to 4. A very long time in a Japanese prison. My second prediction is they will learn nothing. After being released and given the "big chicken dinner" Bad Conduct Discharge, they will return to their life of crime. Within a year they will rape again and maybe murder this time.