TOKYO, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said at a House of Representatives committee session Tuesday that Japan and the United States have launched senior working-level consultations following the alleged murder of a local woman by a U.S. Marine stationed in the southern prefecture of Okinawa, public broadcaster NHK reported.
During questioning at the session, ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Masahisa Miyazaki pointed out that similar incidents keep occurring despite Japan's repeated requests that the U.S. side enforce discipline.
In response, Takaichi said the Japan-U.S. senior working-level consultations launched last week would discuss effective preventive measures, and that the Japanese government would do everything possible to address the case.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told the same session that some matters need further review, and concrete measures should be put forward as soon as possible.
On Oct. 3, a 39-year-old Japanese woman was found dead at a hotel in Naha, the capital of Okinawa. A 20-year-old U.S. Marine stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, identified as Devin Ballard, was arrested by Okinawa police the following day on suspicion of murdering the woman and stealing her wallet and other belongings. Ballard has denied the allegations.
The incident prompted the Okinawa prefectural government to call for a fundamental review of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which has long been criticized as overly protective of U.S. base service members. However, the central government has not yet announced any plan to revise the agreement.
Signed by Japan and the United States in 1960, the SOFA governs the legal status of U.S. forces stationed in Japan. Under the agreement, the United States has the primary right to exercise jurisdiction over offenses allegedly committed by U.S. service members in the performance of official duty. For off-duty offenses, Japan generally has the primary right of jurisdiction, but if the suspect is already in U.S. custody, U.S. authorities in principle retain custody until Japan files charges.
This means that once a U.S. service member suspected of an offense returns to a U.S. base in Japan, whether the suspect is handed over to Japanese police rests largely with the U.S. military, and many cases involving U.S. military personnel in Japan have gone unresolved. ■
