r/japan • u/ScoMoTrudeauApricot • 1d ago
US Marine, 20, allegedly strangled Japanese woman to death inside hotel room as diplomatic tensions reach boiling point
https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16182429/us-marine-robbery-murder-japan-woman-hotel-room.html?ito=social-twitter_mailonline200
u/Coneder 1d ago
Knew it was Okinawa before I even opened the article. God, such a horrid history between American soldiers and Okinawan women.
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u/HibasakiSanjuro 1d ago
Well, this isn't breaking news - anyone who heard about the arrest when it first happened also knew it was in Okinawa.
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u/chaiscool 15h ago
Don't the local women know this, why aren't they avoiding the soldiers like a plague?
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u/CrazeRage 12h ago
why aren't they avoiding the soldiers like a plague?
so many things that should not be tolerated are these days. so weird.
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u/tmspmike 1d ago
I live in Okinawa 60+ years ago as a kid. These stories were going on even that long ago.
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u/Lavamelon7 1d ago
This keeps happening over and over again. The Marines say they will better instill discipline in their troops every time an incident happens and then it happens again. The US Marines need to get out of Okinawa.
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u/arcticblue [沖縄県] 21h ago
As a former Marine, I can say that the USMC's idea of instilling better discipline can lead to more issues.
Back around 2009, someone killed themselves in the barracks. The unit's response wasn't to reflect on why someone would want to kill themselves (the way they were treated was the problem, but leadership got off on making life hell), but to go through the barracks every few hours to wake everyone up (it was a 24 hour shop so we had night shifts too) to make sure everyone was still alive.
A couple people said "I didn't feel like killing myself before, but I do now".
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u/Freak_Out_Bazaar 1d ago
>diplomatic tensions reach boiling point
Where did this come from?
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u/Putrid-Anteater7495 1d ago
Okinawa and mainland Japan have had diplomatic tensions over the u.s. bases for decades now
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u/Kytescall [北海道] 1d ago
Okinawa just elected a new right wing governor who is pro-base and aligned with the national government. Today on TV he was responding to this incident by saying something about US troops being obviously inadequately educated or instructed. Which I thought was a hilariously weak reaction. Like yeah, the problem is that US marines were not shown a powerpoint slide about not committing murder-robberies.
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u/marcelsmudda 19h ago
Aaand I stabbed her 37 times in the chest
CarlDevin that kills peopleOh, oh, oh, I didn't know that
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u/Cedar-and-Mist 1d ago
OP is a pro china 5 cent slave who posts hit pieces on my countries all the time (Taiwan, Canada). Not that this story or the problems with the US in Okinawa are wrong, but editorialising is a common propaganda strategy.
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u/ScoMoTrudeauApricot 1d ago
It's from the article headline, which reads "US Marine, 20, allegedly strangled Japanese woman to death inside hotel room as diplomatic tensions reach boiling point"
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u/Gmknewday1 1d ago
Why
Why does it keep happening
Why do other people keep having to be so awful to the Japanese?
To the point we have these dumbasses who shouldn't be anywhere in the military, outright killing people because no one keeps a eye on them!
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u/dinkytoy80 1d ago
How many incidents involving the okinawa base is this now? And how does it compare to other u.s. bases in Japan? I dont think I ever hear anything about trouble with the other bases, i could be wrong.
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u/arcticblue [沖縄県] 21h ago
Okinawa has something like 75% of all US bases in Japan - it's not just one base in Okinawa.
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u/Bargadiel 1d ago edited 1d ago
From the (alleged) photo of him I've seen, the look in those eyes honestly doesn't surprise me. The military has been sending some absolute pieces of shit to Okinawa.
I know that with the way things are in the US now, the bar is and was already very low, but this is so much worse than embarassing, it's disgusting: as if I could be even more disgusted with US leadership's clown-show. Their antics have severe real-world consequences on people's lives who frankly never signed up to deal with this shit.
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u/New_Bed_7694 1d ago
All these comments about "the look in their eyes" make my eyes (hah) roll, on the internet in general.
You only say that because hindsight is 20-20. There are plenty of people who look like that that are great people. Also a lot of beautiful people who are monsters. Stop judging by appearance. You can't look into a soul through a picture.
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u/Big_Coconut8630 16h ago
True lmao. Anyone who follows true crime knows one of the most common lines said by people in hindsight is "I never thought he could do something like that. He seemed like a nice guy.".
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u/Piccolo60000 1d ago edited 1d ago
That is a HARD 20. Is he turning 40 next year? I hope he never sees the light of another day.
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u/hawkeye224 1d ago
Is there a trustworthy photo? I read that there are multiple soldiers with this name and it’s not certain which one it is
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u/Additional-Film-4111 1d ago
No. There is not. The one going around of the gentleman with the moustache is a family member. He has gotten dozens of threatening messages and voicemails. Meanwhile he is stationed in Hawaii, not the same age, and his middle name is different. People spreading this shit is messing up his life. Fucking ridiculous to be dealing with this.
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u/SushiEnthusiast 19h ago
There was a saying while I was in the Air Force doing tours overseas for any strict or weird rules they gave us: "it's usually a Marine's fault"
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u/steelcityfanatic 14h ago
The only lockdowns I had while stationed on Oki was because of the Marines.
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u/GloriamNonNobis 22h ago
Just give him the death penalty. There is no excuse for this shit... If you misbehave like this in a host country as a soldier you don't deserve any more protection.
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u/Icy_Blackberry_3759 1d ago
Hegseth about to say something to make matters 1000 times worse. Would bet a million dollars he is incapable of admonishing something like this.
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u/mottoii 1d ago
There needs to be a nationwide protest at this point
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u/aguirre1pol 1d ago
There won't be, because frankly the average Japanese doesn't give a shit about what's happening to Okinawa as long as they can go there for holidays.
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u/MondoSensei2022 1d ago
I remember an incident in Iwakuni when a drunk seviceman drove his car into a small shop and injured several people. There were protests outside the base and a one month curfew had been imposed. Didn’t change anything as just a few months later again two U.S. personnel caught with robbing a man in his 70’s.
Such actions committed by military forces are not limited to Japan. Germany had a lot of problems until most of the bases have been closed. Italy, Spain also complain about the rise of despicable behavior from members of U.S. bases .5
u/TumbleweedPure3941 1d ago
An American serviceman strangled a woman to death and you managed to make this into something about the Japanese. Where are the protest from Americans? It’s your scum that’s doing this.
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u/aguirre1pol 1d ago
Well, the Japanese government is definitely complicit by not respecting the will of Okinawans and coercing them into supporting pro-base politicians by withdrawing funds as long as the opposition is in charge. Look into the history of prefectural elections here. I'm not American either, so...
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u/chaiscool 15h ago
Imo seems reasonable considering those folks chose to live there. I can see why other Japanese won't give a shit. It's like hearing about folk leaving near a volcano.
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u/TotallyObviousBot 1d ago
The last time Japan had a nationwide protest about the US occupation, PM Kishi had half of the diet removed in order to pass the renewed Anpo bill
Japan is a US colony, unsure of why you expect anything to change
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u/FelixtheFarmer 1d ago
This isn't the first time something like this has happened, seems to be a bit of a recurring event. Maybe it's time to consider keeping them on base the whole time, harsh for all the military personnel that can behave properly but if they keep sending murderers and rapists here it might be better to protect our own citizens first.
Yes it would be hard on businesses that thrive on off duty military but maybe the lives of citizens comes higher than profits.
If the US military toughens up it's screening processes in the future then maybe base restrictions can be revisited then.
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u/Euphoric_Industry966 9h ago
almost as if there is a "country" that wants to remove US bases from its vicinity, hmmm
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u/FelixtheFarmer 4h ago
Not calling for the bases to be closed down but until they can weed out the bad apples it might be safer for us if the personnel were limited to the bases. Are there this many murderers and rapists stationed on bases in the US ? These people that commit such crimes are bringing the good name of all the honourable serving members down with them.
Not a military expert but think invading Japan would pose some logistical problems. Our submarine fleet is actually quite good and would likely decimate any amphibious landing force. Our type 25 missiles have a very long range and our HVGP will be coming into service soon and we have Tomahawks as well.
No need to close the bases, just as US forces if they can be a bit more careful in who they send and then everyone can be happy.
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u/luckysparkie 18h ago
Where tf was his chain of command? They need to lock up the murderer and kick his entire chain of command out. Obviously, his CoC failed him.
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u/Nikenamebrand1 9h ago
Nothing about this situation is okay. As a Marine and having just left Okinawa after 3.5 years it's disgraceful that these things continue to happen. We as a service have to do a better job of educating those we send abroad about the history and culture of Okinawa and when we do something wrong we have to take a stronger stand on policing our own.
Again, there is nothing to be said that would even remotely excuse the actions of this individual, but I'll be biased in saying that it is not the service as a whole that is to blame.
We take 18 and 19-year-old kids who have just finished (at a minimum for the non combat jobs) 5 months of being trained on how to be violent, then as their first assignment in the Marine Corps we ship them around the world so they can learn to be grown adults, learn to live in a foreign country, be Diplomats for the United States, and maintain their violent nature for a fight that we expect them to wage. We do that and then wonder why things like this happen. This doesn't even account for the thousands of personnel that we rotate in and out of the island on a 6-month rotation as part of the status of forces agreement (SOFA). Many show up and treat it as a vacation where there are no repercussions for their actions and leave those of us who are permanent personnel to try and account and atone for their actions after they leave.
It's a small part of the article, but the newly elected governor said at his statement that they recognize the importance of the alliance and they don't want anyone, especially the Okinawan people to not have faith in it. It's essential that we remain in Okinawa, but we as Marines down to the youngest and most Junior have to do a better job of coexisting with our Ryukyu family.
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u/Nikenamebrand1 9h ago
この状況において、容認できる点は何一つありません。一人の海兵隊員として、そして3年半の沖縄勤務を終えたばかりの身として、こうした事件が繰り返されていることは言語道断であり、恥ずべきことです。軍組織として、海外へ派遣する隊員に対し、沖縄の歴史や文化についてより十分な教育を行う必要があります。また、問題が発生した際には、身内の規律や取り締まりに対してより厳格な態度で臨まなければなりません。 重ねて言いますが、この個人の取った行動を少しでも正当化できるような言い訳は一切存在しません。ただ、組織全体に非があるわけではないと述べる点については、私自身の立場としてのバイアスが含まれているかもしれません。 私たちは、非戦闘職種であっても最低5か月にわたって「いかに暴力的であるか」の訓練を受けたばかりの18歳や19歳の若者を、海兵隊での最初の任地として世界各地へ派遣しています。大人としての立ち振る舞いを身につけ、異国で生活し、アメリカの代表（外交官）としての役割を果たしながら、同時にいざという戦いに備えて暴力性を維持することを彼らに求めているのです。そうした環境に置きながら、なぜこのような事態が起きるのかと頭を抱えているのが現状です。さらに言えば、日米地位協定（SOFA）のもとで6か月ごとのローテーションにより島に出入りする何千人もの隊員の存在を考慮していません。多くの隊員は、行動に対する責任を問われない気楽な休暇気分でやって来ては、問題を起こした後に立ち去り、そのツケや償いは残留する恒久部隊の隊員に背負わされることになります。 記事の中ではわずかに触れられている程度ですが、新しく選出された知事は声明の中で、同盟の重要性を認識しており、誰一人として、とりわけ沖縄の人々がその同盟への信頼を失うことを望んでいないと述べました。海兵隊が沖縄に駐留し続けることは不可欠ですが、最も若く階級の低い隊員に至るまで、海兵隊全体が「琉球の家族」とより良い共生を図るために努力を重ねなければなりません。
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u/BuciComan 4h ago
I think the idea of policing your own is exactly why these pricks think they can get away with it. I think a hands-off approach where the perpetrator gets to face the consequences for their actions against a citizen of the state they commited the crime in would curb their hope that Uncle Sam swoops in to save them and gives them a stern talking to.
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u/henry82 5h ago
Happy cake day
it's disgraceful that these things continue to happen.
Agreed. I'm Australian and it's well known the Japanese police don't play games. I'm sure he was told by the military not to be stupid. You can't fix dumb
Also, it's not some obscure Japanese law. Everyone about about age 5 knows not to kill someone.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
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u/RedFlutterMao 1d ago
Will he be charged??
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u/SkaiHues 1d ago
Should be put away for life.
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u/Nice-Classic-6221 1d ago
The 3 marines that kidnapped a 12 year old and raped her in 1992 in Okinawa only got 7 years 😬
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u/Sufficient_Coach7566 1d ago
Sad news, but fuck this article.
White suspect, but hey, let's put up the pictures of 3 Black criminals from 30 years ago!
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u/kombiwombi 1d ago
It's a poor article because it doesn't explain the cultural significance of the 1995 crime. But an article on USMC criminal violence in Japan needs that context.
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u/Comprehensive_Cup849 1d ago
Those animals only got 7 years in prison, I see nothing wrong with the pictures as it provides context as to why the Japanese are so upset.
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u/jferrisjapan 21h ago
American here. Such a sad story and I’m aware these things have happened many times with little consequence.
Without harsh consequences they will continue to happen unfortunately. I can only hope Japan and the US set the right example now to prevent the next one from happening.
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u/Gambizzle 1d ago
What's the vetting process like for these marines?
Asking as I'd be thinking it's a plumb job to be posted to Okinawa, which lots people would fight over. As in, a bunch of US eikaiwa teachers would love to be on a US marine salary, while posted to Japan instead of working for Interac (and they seem to be more reliable than a lot of these marines!)
How do they end up hiring this sorta trash and posting them to Japan? Woulda thought the recruitment processes were tighter and that this sorta psychological profile would be vetted outta the service.
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u/freedombuckO5 20h ago
Marines are broken on purpose to make them effective in war time. They are stationed on Okinawa to train for jungle combat. Their terrible psychological profile allows them to do what they do in combat. It has very negative consequences for when they inevitably interact with civilians though. The other branches of the US military have less problems because they are treated more like people.
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u/_HOG_ 19h ago
The bar for enlisted marines is just really low. They aren’t making murderous rapists.
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u/nospamkhanman 18h ago
It's higher than the Army and not significantly different academically from the Nacy or Airforce for academics. It has obviously a much tougher physical requirement.
The psychological screening is pretty light and I believe all services are handled the same, at the same time during MEPS.
You basically just get a questionnaire and a background check. Those going for a job that requires a TS clearance will get a much more in depth FBI background screening.
The Marines are more murderous than the other branches, which might be due to higher rates of PTSD, or simply the culture, I'm not sure.
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u/GhostCouncil- 5h ago
These mfs need a super curfew with a collar that shocks them continuously if they’re out of the gates for 3 minutes or more
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u/welsper59 4h ago
Given that Japan apparently has legal authority to apply capital punishment for situations like this with an off-duty soldier murdering someone, I really think they should apply that right already. It's crazy how many times this sort of thing happens and 100% of the time it's because the soldier thinks they'll get away with it (i.e. the US military will protect them). Set the example and stick to it, then we will start to see this happen less frequently. Stop raping and murdering Japanese citizens when deployed or face execution in Japan. It's not exactly a difficult situation to be in.
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u/Key-Line5827 18h ago
Good thing that Okinawans didnt just recently elect a Pro-Base government due to a Rightwing Fake News campaign.
...Oh, wait... /s
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u/ebearshoo 1d ago
Crazy this comes after the pro-base right-wing governor overwhelmingly won over the anti base japanese communist party endorsed incumbent
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u/TumbleweedPure3941 1d ago
That might have something to do with the constant Chinese military presence in the seas around Okinawa. Just a thought.
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1d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Working-Morning-3645 1d ago
Why always Okinawa? I never hear this from other parts of Japan or other bases around the world. Do they cover it up, do they by default blame a US marines, or is there something in the water that make Americans go crazy?
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u/KidAardvark24 18h ago
I was in Yokosuka for 6 years. The worst we had was a drug dealer and some fights. Nothing worse happened that I had heard of.
Sailors would rather watch anime in their barracks nights
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u/DrizzleDrake88 21h ago
As someone that used to be stationed in Japan. It’s usually Okinawa because that’s where the Marines are normally stationed at. And as for why the Marines? Their minimum ASVAB requirements is just 1 above the Army so it’s not really the brightest, but it really comes down to what kind of people each military branch attracts. Which for the Marines, tend to be really aggressive guys (basically pit bulls)
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u/PotentialSpaceman 18h ago
They do not "by default" blame US Marines
US marines are just very frequently to blame...
Combining the kind of people who often choose to be soldiers with an environment of zero accountability created when you refuse to let the local authorities prosecute them for anything they do is just a recipe for disaster, and that disaster materialises far too often
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u/pieholic 1d ago
Like just regarding murder or crime in general? Because US forces are notorious for bringing crime where they are stationed. Which makes sense, bring a group of people and you're bound to get some bad apples, especially when they are far from their normal morality enforcers
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u/Ori-Epsilon 1d ago
Also trending on young, dumb, and in a pretty aggressive military culture doesn’t help those stats much either. Plus, especially now, the military is taking literally anyone it can. So yea, wouldn’t be surprised if there are more than usual bad guys.
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u/derioderio [アメリカ] 14h ago
The US military presence in Okinawa is huge. 10% of the area of the island is US military bases, and there are 30K US military personnel there, which accounts for 70% of all US military in Japan.
Also Okinawa was not returned to Japanese sovereignty at the end of WWII. The US controlled it until 1972, and up until that time the USD was the only currency and Okinawans needed a passport to travel to mainland Japan.
The US military presence in Okinawa is called the keystone of the Pacific military strategy. The main purpose is to keep the major military powers in the region: China, Japan, South Korea, and North Korea, all playing relatively nice with each other. And in that regard it has been successful:
- Neither the Korean War nor the Vietnam War escalated into larger conflicts
- North Korea has never done much besides occasional abduction of citizens of the other countries and shooting missiles into the ocean
- China does a bunch of saber-rattling but has never seriously tried to invade Taiwan, and their island-grabbing schemes have been relatively small in scale.
The government in Tokyo realizes this too, which is why they persist in allowing the huge US military presence there. This overrides the will of the Okinawans themselves, which have generally been very vocal about wanting the US military out, esp. after despicable incidents like the one that just happened.
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u/Electrical-Call-6160 13h ago
You're hearing Okinawa mostly because it's Japan.
US Marines did this crap in several other 3rd world countries as well such as the Philippines.
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u/Yabakunaiyoooo 1d ago
I hate marines. Sorry but the majority of people who go through marine training seem like absolute nut jobs. This is so tragic.
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u/brownorange88 37m ago
Japan must be self-reliant on their own defence. Build up a massive nuclear weapons programme, re-militarise, stop relying on US!
If NKorea wants to fuck around, Japan must hit back.
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u/marcelsmudda 1d ago
Who would have thought that it was Okinawa, again...
Is that just a dumping ground for soldiers the US doesn't like?