U.S. Navy confines sailors to bases in Japan, imposes open-ended alcohol ban

[DemMomma4Sanders]

Source: The Japan Times

On Saturday, Petty Officer 2nd Class Aimee Mejia, who is assigned to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, was arrested after allegedly driving a car on the wrong side of the road, hitting two cars and injuring two people.

Mejia is being held by Japanese police on suspicion of drunken driving. Kyodo News said Monday her case would be referred to prosecutors the same day.

The incident occurred during what the U.S. military dubbed a period of unity and mourning in Okinawa after the body of a 20-year-old Japanese woman was found on a roadside in the prefecture. An American contractor employed at Kadena has been arrested in that case.

In March, a sailor was arrested following the suspected rape of a Japanese tourist at a hotel in Okinawa. He has since pleaded guilty.

And in 1995, the rape of a schoolgirl by three U.S. servicemen sparked widespread protests in Okinawa.

Read more: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/06/06/national/u-s-navy-confines-sailors-to-bases-in-japan-bans-alcohol-after-okinawa-dui-incident/

[sulphurdunn]

1. If civilian military contractors working for the Navy

are not obliged to obey emergency orders from the commander of naval forces in Japan, who are they answerable to?

[tomersonan]

2. They are answerable to the full jurisdiction of the host nation.

They are typically not protected by status of forces agreements.

[Major Nikon]

5. If your boss ordered you to stop drinking, would you feel obligated to comply?

The military has uniformed soldiers under their control 24/7. Not so much for civilians.

This order doesn't even make sense for military members. Punishing over 18,000 men and women for the mistake of one is asinine. It's the type of thing that only serves to destroy morale without actually accomplishing anything.

[Bucky]

7. Of course the military is a whole lot more than an employer

[Lucky Luciano]

3. My wife is from Japan.

The view of people there is that American soldiers are animals.

[Major Nikon]

6. Lots of Japanese people view anyone who is different as animals

Racism and xenophobia are rampant there.

[Yonnie3]

8. I made trips to Japan for work in the '90s ...

and always had this feeling that people didn't want to be near me. I got on the first stop of the train in the morning rush and as the train filled the absolutely last seat taken was next to me. I could see the school girls eyeing me up and down out of the corners of their eyes. Many people, seeing I was a foreigner in the train station, would rush unasked to assist me in finding the right train. The culture sure is different.

I wasn't associated with the military.

[NaturalHigh]

4. I remember when we were restricted to base in Korea...

during some dumbass exercise. At least we could drink in the on-base clubs. These poor bastards are taking it coming and going.