The US Navy slapped a drinking ban on sailors stationed in Japan on Monday and halted off-base liberty after a series of crimes and other incidents involving American personnel that heightened longstanding resentment against the US military’s presence in the country.
Rear Admiral Matthew Carter, commander of US naval forces in Japan, announced the ban in a press release on Monday. The order came just days after police arrested an American sailor on the southern island of Okinawa on suspicion of drunk driving on Saturday.
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Despite the close timing to the recent drunk driving arrest, the initial 30-day period of mourning and restriction on off-base activity on the island was initially prompted by a separate incident. Last month, a 32-year-old American civilian working at the base was arrested in connection with the murder of a Japanese woman.
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“For decades we have enjoyed a strong relationship with the people of Japan. It is imperative that each sailor understand how our actions affect that relationship and the US Japan alliance as a whole,” Carter said.
The US has 18,600 sailors stationed in Japan.
Renewed anger among residents in Okinawa at the US military presence on the island threatens a plan to relocate the US Marines’ Futenma Airbase to a less populous part of Okinawa, which was planned in 1996 after the rape of a Japanese schoolgirl by American military personnel sparked huge anti-base demonstrations. The current base is in an urban area of Okinawa, the site of a brutal battle won by American forces in World War II.
Okinawa’s governor and many residents want the US troops off the island entirely. The anti-base movement was emboldened on Monday when Okinawa assembly members who want to see the military base removed succeeded in winning a majority in the prefectural assembly election.
The results mean Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga will likely redouble his efforts to move the Futenma Airbase off the island altogether, setting the stage for a prolonged fight with the central government.
Onaga called the election result a “great victory,” but Tokyo said it remains committed to the plan to move the base to the Henoko area of the city of Nago in central Okinawa.
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“There is no change to our stance that the shift to Henoko is the only solution when we think about maintaining the deterrence of the US-Japan alliance and removing the risks of the Futenma airbase,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference.
In the meantime, all US Navy sailors in Japan will be kept on base and banned from drinking until “all personnel understand the impact of responsible behavior on the US-Japan alliance,” the press release from Carter said. Sailors living off base will be allowed to travel to and from base and conduct only “essential activities.”
The restrictions do not apply to family members and civilian US contractors, which brings the total number of people to 35,000, but they are being encouraged to observe the rules “in a spirit of solidarity,” a spokesman for the US Navy told Reuters.
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