Japanese Police Have Investigated Nearly 5,000 Criminal Cases Involving U.S. Military Personnel in Japan Over 37 Years

Xinhua News Agency, Tokyo, October 10 (Reporter Liang Chen, Zhang Tianning) According to a report by the Japanese newspaper "Akahata," citing data from the Japanese National Police Agency, from 1989 to May 2026, the Japanese police have handled a total of 4,998 criminal cases involving the U.S. military stationed in Japan and their families, of which 2,447 cases occurred in Okinawa Prefecture, accounting for 49% of the total.

During the aforementioned period, there were a total of 266 violent cases, including murder, robbery, arson, and rape, among which 129 occurred in Okinawa Prefecture, 67 in Kanagawa Prefecture, and 34 in Tokyo.

Okinawa Prefecture occupies only about 0.6% of Japan's land area, yet it houses approximately 70% of the U.S. military's dedicated facilities in Japan. The report states that the heavy burden of the bases is directly related to the high incidence of crimes committed by U.S. military personnel, but the governments of Japan and the United States have not taken effective measures to address the issue.

On the 4th of this month, the Okinawa Prefectural Police arrested a Marine Corps member stationed at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, who is suspected of robbing and murdering a local woman. The case has once again sparked strong anger among the people of Okinawa.