U.S. Sailor Sought Over Taxi Murder / Okinawans Rally Against American Military
During my time away from the internet these last few days, I managed to watch a bit of television news. The top story was the murder of a taxi driver and the suspected involvement of a Nigerian serving in the U.S. Navy:
The 22-year-old sailor, who had been stationed at the U.S. Navy base in Yokosuka, was taken into custody in Tokyo by U.S. military authorities on Saturday.
The sailor’s credit card was found in a taxi belonging to a 61-year-old Masaaki Takahashi, who was found stabbed to death in his vehicle on Wednesday night.
Yokosuka Municipal Government’s Base Task Force said it received a message from the U.S. military at about 4 a.m. Saturday to say the sailor wanted in connection with Takahashi’s death had been taken into custody. U.S. military officials are currently questioning the sailor.
The sailor had been a crewmember on the AEGIS destroyer USS Cowpens, which left Yokosuka on March 17. The sailor, however, had been missing for at least some weeks before the ship left port and was being sought by U.S. military police for being absent without leave (AWOL).
[...]
If that happens, the Japanese police will probably then seek custody of the sailor in conjunction with the Foreign Ministry under the bilateral Status of Forces Agreement.
Takahashi was found dead in the driver’s seat of his taxi with a 20-cm kitchen knife lodged deeply in his neck on a road in Yokosuka around 9:20 p.m. Wednesday. The road is in a residential area about 1 km from the main gate of Yokosuka naval base.
Takahashi was stuck so deeply with the knife that it hit one of his lungs, the police said, noting that they suspect his last passenger, who was picked up near JR Shinagawa Station in Tokyo, stabbed him and fled after a dispute over paying the ¥17,000 fare on the meter.
The police found about ¥62,000 in cash in a bag left in the driver’s seat and tens of thousands of yen that had been stashed in one of Takahashi’s pockets.
In a related story, a U.S. Marine NCO was arrested on the 22nd for assaulting several Okinawa police officers during an altercation with his estranged wife. A day later, Okinawan groups went ahead with a previously-scheduled rally against the U.S. military presence in their prefecture:
The demonstration was sparked by recent reports of U.S. troop-related crime, including the arrest of a Marine for allegedly assaulting a 14-year-old Okinawan girl in February. The Marine was later released from Japanese custody and no charges were filed.
“The voice of Okinawa is angry,” said protest organizer Tetsuei Tamayose. “We need a fundamental change.”
Banners demanding the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Okinawa ringed the makeshift stage of the protest, held outside a baseball stadium.
Organizers had hoped that the protest would draw about 10,000 participants, but it rained that day and only 6,000 people showed up.
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That particular knife attack is particularly deadly. According to my hand-to-hand manual, once the subclavian artery is cut, with a downward thrust through the shoulder posterior to the clavical, loss of consciousness occurs in 2 seconds, death in 3 1/2 seconds and no help of man can save him.
Somebody knew what he was doing or got very lucky.
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Correct. It is what we were taught in hand-to-hand combat training on beautiful, balmy Parris Island. Get a headlock and stab down and in at the base of the neck just behind the collarbone. You will take out the carotid and jugular and, if you go deep enough, you can hit the aorta as well. The other person will lose consciousness quickly (which means they stop fighting) and die almost as quickly as they bleed out internally – and with what you are cutting, it is unlikely you’ll get the “cork effect” of the knife blocking the blood flow. But since most of the bleeding will be internal, the attacker won’t get a bath like they would if they cut the carotid by slashing the neck.
The thing is, stabbing someone there is so counter-intuitive to most folks (who watch movies and think “go for the throat”) that it makes me doubt this was someone “getting lucky”. It sounds like they knew what they were doing.
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Well, we can’t really escape these kinda things. It’s a pretty sad world we live in, but those US marines really think they own the world. They are just muscle, no brain.
I hope they catch the criminal at least.
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If I was on the Japanese side of this situation I’d probably be protesting as well.
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Japan should be happy we allowed it to remain anything other than an American territory so shut it.
Heh. I’ve heard that line before.
“Shut it” or else what? You’ll stick a kitchen knife in my neck? Or perhaps you’ll organize an illegal invasion of my country, hunt me down, and ship my ass off to Guantanamo Bay?
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US and Japan can be allies without having US bases in Japan. Just take a look at NATO. Then US forces can focus more on Iraq so that they don’t make the same mistake and lose yet an another war like US did in Vietnam.
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Just take a look at NATO.
Take a look at how many NATO countries have US bases.
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I love how many Americans (and others I guess) use the second person plural to discuss things their country has done totally without regard to them, and often before they were even born. “We did this so I am telling you to shut it” is ridiculous. No wonder people can’t separate individual Americans from the country when many individual Americans don’t either.
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Where’s the rallies for all the other murders that occurred that week by Japanese? Is it ok for a Japanese person to be murdered by another Japanese – but whoa, get those panties knotted if the murder was done by a foreigner? I doubt the dead are really concerned WHO murdered them – they’re still just as dead.
For a supposedly civilized nation – it’s ironic that some Japanese people immediately jump to “the foreigners guilty” even when the investigation has just begun and the evidence is still being collected and analyzed.
It’s a GLOBAL village now folks – GET USED TO IT.
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You’re right. But I really want a withdrawal of US troops from Okinawa.(:
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So if there’re Japanese troop based in your country and their military staff murder your civilians or rape your country’s girls almost every year, you still keep calm and say…oh!! yeah it’s “global village” and need “no protest”.
And one day, if your sister got raped by some foreign military crews, hopefully, you still stick with your notion, accept such happening things and get used to it.
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I’m sure Americans want the troops to pull out as well, that way they can put them down in Iraq for more Middle East domination. However, most educated Japanese (and thus the government) actually want them there as now if say, China decided to invade for some odd reason, they’d risk being at war with America, their bestest trading buddy.
The whole rape issue is also overblown; most (not all so it’s not like I’m advocating the defense of any sicko criminals) cases you end up finding out the girl had a consensual relationship but when her relatives or whatnot found out, she cries rape to hide embarrassment/shame (especially if the dude’s colored -_-). Any American expat that hangs round Roppongi knows of these issues, and can attest to the ‘free spirit’ of the girls around there :/
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Just so everyone knows Japan does have a military base in America. Go to Ft. Bliss, Texas and part of the base is for a unit of Japanese air defenders. That is why the US has a reciprocal SOFA with Japan, the soldiers stationed there have the same SOFA protection as the US soldiers in Japan. How much crime do the Japanese soldiers commit in the states? I don’t know because if they did commit a crime it would not make nation wide headlines like in Japan.
Take for example the recent domestic dispute involving the US Marine on Okinawa and his estranged wife. If a Japanese servicemember in America got in a similar incident does anyone think a story in a national US newspaper would be published about it? Heck no but that is what happens in Japan that creates the perception of out of control US military crime.
Also the sailor in the taxi cab murder is now in custody and denies killing the cab driver:
http://rokdrop.com/2008/03/24/yokosuka-sailor-suspected-in-cab-driver-murder-detained/
Just like with the false rape claim in Okinawa people should wait for the police to conduct their investigation and indict the sailor before jumping to conclusions.
Also none of this changes the fact that servicemembers in Japan are committing less crime per capita then the Japanese public:
http://rokdrop.com/2008/02/20/statistics-for-recent-usfj-crime-rate-on-okinawa-released/
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It was NOT a false rape claim in Okinawa. the charges were dropped because “the girl did not want to deal with the issue anymore”, not because the charges proved untrue.
That sicko admitted to forcibly kissing the 14 (!) year old.
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Burden of proof is on the accuser. This is the court system in Japan. If he hasn’t been proven guilty, you have no grounds to say he did it.
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Yes, the crime rate may be less, but then so is the death toll from aircraft crashes vs cars. The difference is in the drama. And that US servicemen should not be committing ANY crimes. These are the people that ‘we’ trust to defend us with their lives – presumably, that calls for high moral standards. So when these are breached, we no longer trust them to do their job.
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Show me a military in the world that doesn’t commit any crimes. When you have a population of tens of thousands of people there is going to be crime, get used to it. There isn’t a city in Japan with the equivalent population of USFJ that doesn’t have crime. What matters is how much crime is committed and how it is dealt with. The USFJ crime rate is low and crimes committed off post against Japanese citizens are handled in Japanese courts.
As far the Okinawa rape case you can say all you want that the Marine is a weirdo for kissing a 14 year old girl but the bottom line that he did not rape the girl. Did it ever occur to you that the police found no evidence when a rape kit was given to the girl and that is why the girl’s family decided not to press charges?
It happens women lie:
http://rokdrop.com/2008/02/23/more-details-on-false-rape-allegation-2/
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I it is far from certain that no rape occurred. From what I read, she just wanted to go on with her life. And, he did not just admit to kissing the child, but to FORCIBLY kissing her. That’s at least sexual assault against a minor he admitted to.
So, it is improper and actually quite insulting against the victim to speak of lies and of “false rape charges”.
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You have no evidence that the girl was raped. You cannot call someone a rapist without any evidence. Of course she is going to make excuses if she made up the rape story. The Japanese police couldn’t even find any evidence of a struggle:
“Deputy Chief Prosecutor Hirokazu Urata last week said Hadnott was cooperative throughout the questioning. Urata said there was never any evidence of a struggle.”
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60337&archive=true
Also he did not say he FORCIBLY kissed her as you claim. This is what the Marine said:
“During intensive questioning since his arrest, Hadnott denied the rape allegation, claiming he only kissed and pressed up against the girl.”
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60337&archive=true
Where did he claim he forcibly kissed her in that statement? That is why I have been saying over and over again to allow the investigation to play out.
I have been part of investigations before and what the public and media think they know compared to what really happened is often quite different, but the military cannot come out and publish details when an investigation is going on. The Marine is still being investigated by the military because if he did knowingly kiss a 14 year old girl he could be punished for it according to UCMJ. However, could the girl have told him she was 18 years old and he believed her?
Once again I don’t know and neither do you but the guy deserves due process and not a lynch mob.
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GI Korea:
I think some readers get the impression that there was a forced kiss because news organizations such as Reuters and the AFP have printed articles saying that the police reported the Marine admitted to forcing the kiss:
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jwVaXte9bKI3uwU21c-2EnLhqXFQ
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUST12926820080301
On the other hand, the Yomiuri has an article from around the same date that states the Marine claimed the kissing and touching were not forced:
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20080301TDY01306.htm
A more recent article (http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=394896 ) is in agreement with the Yomiuri, so it could be that earlier press reports or police statements were wrong about his confession.
I would be very careful of libel here. Without a court decision saying that rape happened, it is libel to say that he raped her.
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Well, yes, I read multiple reports claiming force was involved. I didn’t say that rape happened, but that the situation is far from clear.
No one can confuse a 14 year old with a 18 year old, esp. in Japan where everyone looks younger. This marine is a undoubtfully a very disgusting person.
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GIKorea, telling link you posted about the alleged rape case in Korea. Someone there posted:
“Just think of all the barracks hoes who are cringing at the thought of being waterboarded the next time they cry “Rape!” and their false accusations coming to light….”
Advocating the use of torture against a woman reporting a rape is the intelligent and enlightened comment expected from a member of the US military….
US military of of Japan (and the rest of the world as well)!!!
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You obviously didn’t get the sarcasm in the comment. That commenter has consistently highlighted false rape accusations that have come to light in the military.
However, your bias has now come to light. The alleged rape means little to you, it is the fact the person is being accused of rape is in the military that matters to you. Since he is in the military you think a lynch mob is what needed regardless of whether or not he is guilty or not.
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Didn’t seem very sarcastic, just angry. There were more misogynist comments on that page. Even in sarcasm this comment would be pathetic. I do think the alleged rapes are big deals. But, yes, I am obviously biased against the US military, and for good reasons.
I demanded a lynch mob? I only pointed out that the guy had admitted to sexually approaching a child and by no means was this affair just based on lies.
Very amusing to see a member of the US armed forces argue for due process. How about granting that to the (in many cases innocent!) people in Guatanamo?
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The Gitmo argument always seems to be the last card played when people like yourself are losing the argument. When Al Qaeda terrorists sign a SOFA like the US has with Japan they will get their due process.
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I don’t see myself loosing this argument at all, really.
So, you don’t just avidly defend this admitted pedophile, but honestly also these horrible human rights infractions in this US-concentration camp?
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I think you are confusing US Military and US Armed Forces policy with soldiers. It seems to me that you are against US military policy which is determined by government officials, generals and bureaucrats. Military policy has nothing to do with soldiers in the military, and especially nothing to do with the ignorant/criminal soldiers in the military.
What you don’t seem to realize is that not everyone in the military agrees with the way things are being run. I just had dinner with some friends on a military base and everyone there (mostly adults in their 50s) was complaining about current military policy and, in particular, being in Iraq.
Also, I fail to see how it’s amusing that someone in the US armed forces could argue for due process. There are a lot of people in the military who believe the f&%kheads running Gitmo need to be fired.
I’m not even in the military and it’s pretty clear that internal support for the administration is at an all time low. People have been trained to believe that questioning military policy is the same as not supporting the troops in Iraq, but that is a sad byproduct of the current presidential administration and 9/11.
You blame everyone in the military for military policy, but on the same token, would you blame everyone working at McDonalds for making Americans fat?
If this soldier raped the girl then he should be convicted. It’s very simple. But the step that comes before conviction is a trial. His alleged (and yes I say alleged because his rape hasn’t been proven) needs to be thoroughly investigated and not influenced because a bunch of people are angry at military policy. If you say he’s guilty because he’s a soldier it’s simply a non-argument. Correlation does not mean causation.
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Hi Kevin,
You make some points, some of which I agree with. Of course the guy should get a fair treatment, what I pointed out is that he confessed an erotic encounter with the 14yo girl (some sources say involving force, some not). That’s a sex offense itself, and so he’s not an innocent victim of a which hunt. It’s distorting the facts to omit that when saying that the rape charges were dropped.
As for your point about the difference between military policy-soldiers, I agree that there is a difference. Still, it is an all-volunteer force, and I blame them to some degree. GWB did not kill or abuse anyone in Iraq personally. All these people have a choice. Some of the guys I see in Okinawa are so young they must have joined after the start of the war. Why???
I’m not saying anyone is guilty because he’s a soldier, but my sympathy for someone like that is even smaller when I hear that he’s in the USMC.
I am friends with some ex-military guys, and we sometimes discuss these issues as well. I know that not everyone in the military is a bad person, but I do sometimes get the impression that military culture does not exactly foster respect for women.
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It’s not a good idea to have foreign troops occupying a foreing country. Most Japanese and people do not want US bases in Japan. Be it Okinawa, Yokosuka Germany, Korea or Iraq the local population are not very supportive of US presence. US currently has stationed US troops in over 130 countries and this also is not sustainable for the US economy. US has to borrow money from countries including communist China to be able to play their imperialist games.
For those who think US is protecting Japan. If China realy wanted to go to war it could simply dump the Dollar and US would be in economical ruins.
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If China realy wanted to go to war it could simply dump the Dollar and US would be in economical ruins.
And how fast would those factory jobs be lost? Not on the US, but Japan, the UK and the EU would pull theirs asap. China can’t get away with doing that (or else they probably would).
“Dumping the dollar” would lead to riots that could bring down the Chinese government. It could be more in US interest than China’s…
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I like how a previous commenter mentioned that China might invade “for some odd reason”. Yeah, it would definitely be odd, because China has nothing to gain from invading Japan. What’s the point? To gain control of Japan’s vast natural resources? Because they like akafuku?
U.S. troops shouldn’t be in Okinawa because there’s no reason to be there! The local economy might depend on the bases for now, but with U.S. troops gone they can create a much better tourist industry. Why? Well, most Europeans (and their strong Euro) aren’t too keen on going to a place filled with American military people. More an more Europeans are coming to Japan every year for tourism, but Okinawa will be left out of the boom until the U.S. is out.
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I couldn’t agree more. On the drive from Naha to the beaches, you see US military bases left and right. At times, there are high barb-wired fences on both sides of the road, like in some movie about an Orwellian future. That would make most Europeans want to throw up right there. It doesn’t spread tropical-paradise vacation-atmosphere at all.
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Once again it appears that the JP’s may have been over anxious in pointing the finger at the U.S. Military!!
“Cops admit to dearth of material evidence in Yokosuka taxi driver slaying”
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080324p2a00m0na023000c.html
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The US economy is much more vunerable than Japan or EU simply because China has US Dollars. ANd because US borrows money from China unlike EU or Japan who does not need to borrow money from anyone. War is hell. If China really wanted to invade Japan it could just aswell dump the Dollars and win a fight without firing a single shot.
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Most NATO countries do not have US bases. Besides American troops are not popular in countries like in Italy or Germany. There were demonstrations in Italy quite recently.
Despite what some people might want to say. Most non Americans do not look at US foreign policy in a favourable way.
If US must absolutely have bases in Japan would it not be better to lock them up? Japanese are not allowed entry into the bases so Americans should not be allowed to leave the bases.
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Besides the small protests by the usual left wing activists the biggest protest in Italy revolved around a garbage strike:
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=59030&archive=true
The US military in Germany is going through massive force reductions which the Germans were “surprised” by:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A22217-2004Mar24?language=printer
Also Americans are not allowed on US bases in America unless signed in on the post by a servicemember. Just like Japanese need to be signed in on post in Japan. So using your logic US military servicemembers in America should be locked on post as well.
I suppose the foreign military bases in America like the Japanese and Germans have, those soldiers should also be put on lock down too.
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I don’t think any civilian, having never served in the U.S. Military, would really be able to understand or appreciate how the U.S. Military operates in an overseas environment. It always seems that the media in general over embellishes the negative and steers clear of the positive. People seem to forget that the U.S. Military wears multiple hats to include humanitarian assistance. I applaud GI Korea for repeatedly showing those who continually regurgitate past headlines and make amateurish comments about military policy overseas, how ridiculous and pointless their arguments really are. Rather than continuously ranting on about how you hate the U.S. Military on a web blog, why don’t you focus that same energy into something more positive that could possibly benefit society!
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