Once again a US military person has murdered a Japanese citizen in Okinawa

[Bonobo]

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201605200015.html

After police reopened voluntary questioning on May 19, Shinzato admitted to abandoning the body, saying she had stopped moving, the sources said.

Police believe that Shinzato and Shimabukuro did not know each other beforehand.

Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga, who is demanding a reduction of U.S. military bases in his prefecture, blamed the heavy presence of these facilities for the latest incident.

“Of course I am angry, but given our prefecture’s circumstances leading to today, I cannot find the words (to describe my feelings),” Onaga said after returning to Japan from his U.S. trip on May 19.

The tiny island prefecture hosts around 74 percent of U.S. military facilities in Japan.

Okinawa residents have long complained about noise, dangers of U.S. military drills and crimes committed by U.S. servicemen.

Shinzato’s arrest fueled their anger.

From noon, about 200 protesters gathered at the Kadena Air Base.

The rally was organized by members of the Okinawa Heiwa Undou Center (Okinawa peace movement center) and a group of 22,000 plaintiffs who have filed a lawsuit against noise pollution from the air base.

“The central government says that it will side with Okinawa on (sharing) the burden of shouldering U.S. military bases, but the issue has yet to take even a half step forward,” said Shusei Arakawa, 79, a former mayor of Okinawa city, who heads the group of plaintiffs. “In order to get out of this situation, we have no other way but to demand that all U.S. military bases be withdrawn from the prefecture.”

The Okinawa prefectural assembly plans to call an emergency plenary session to adopt a unanimous protest resolution within a few days.

Some previous crimes in Okinawa Prefecture have led to calls to revise the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which stipulates that criminal suspects affiliated with U.S. forces may remain in the custody of American authorities up until Japanese officials bring charges against them.

Okinawa prefectural police explained that Shinzato is a civilian employee of the U.S. forces under stipulations of SOFA. However, the incident took place when he was not performing official duties, so police plan to send his case to prosecutors through Japanese judicial procedures, the sources said.
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People are pissed, I'm pissed.