Here’s another fine example of the hypocrisy of Okinawa’s Japanese community. An alleged rape by a US Marine causes such an uproar in the community that protests are held to demand the removal of all US military personnel. The local media has a field day and doesn’t even bother mentioning the suspect being presumed innocent until a full investigation and legal proceeding determines otherwise. Yet, a janitor contracted by a Japanese company, that provides workers for DODDS (on-base schools) at Camp Foster, is under investigation for allegedly molesting a male middle school student and doesn’t even get a mention in the Japanese press. I’m actually disappointed in Stars & Stripes, because their front page headlines have all been about this Marine, and they only ran a story on the alleged molestation of this boy after a parent called to complain about the lack of media coverage.
Where’s the outrage now? Where’s the public demand for better screening of employees hired by Japanese companies to ensure students of military schools are safe from sexual assault? There isn’t any, because the Japanese public doesn’t care. They don’t care because the child was an American, and it doesn’t give them any ammunition to denounce the US presence in Okinawa. Then again, it could be no big deal because sexual assault on students is about as Japanese as sushi, geishas, and cherry-blossom festivals. Reports of students being molested by teachers and other Japanese citizens is almost a weekly occurrence, and just part of that “weird and quirky” Japanese culture everyone is so fond of. There will be those Japanese who point out the fact that the suspect in this incident is apparently Filipino, and since most Japanese consider themselves the superior race, yannow, it really doesn’t count against them. The Filipino comment came from the Japanese police, so I have my doubts. Filipinos are treated like garbage over here, so it seems like a typical response to blame it on them.
As a service member who has so far dedicated his entire adult life to the US military, I demand the US military leadership in Japan, institutes measures to ensure all children of US military members and civilian support, that attend on-base DODDS schools are kept safe from the vicious Japanese workers that wish to prey on our military children. First, I request the removal of all workers who are Japanese nationals from all schools, childcare centers, and other facilities that provide services to children. I then request all these positions be refilled by American citizens who have passed thorough background screenings by the US military. Additionally, I request, for the safety of our military children, that all Japanese contracted workers that will be working around these same facilities, such as public works and maintenance personnel, be escorted at all times by US military law-enforcement until the completion of their task. Do you see how easily something can be blown out of proportion when everyone decides to throw rationalized thought and basic rights out the window?
The saddest part about this story, is that it also displays the hypocrisy of the US leadership in Japan. This is a statement made by Chip Steitz, Public Affairs Officer for DODDS-Pacific.
“The incident is under investigation,” he stressed. “We must respect the rights of the individuals involved in this matter. We take any incident involving our students very seriously. The vendor immediately removed the contractor from the school upon notification of the alleged incident. The health and safety of our students and teachers remains our top priority.”
Do you see how he afforded the suspect in this case his basic right of being presumed innocent? Why then did the US leadership in Japan immediately throw this Marine under the bus? Instead of releasing a statement about how they must respect the rights of this US Marine who should be presumed innocent, they basically trampled over each other to be the first person to kiss the ass of every Japanese politician, and get the classic photo op of them bowing in apology. What a shame.
Here’s a link to the full Stars & Stripes story. Lastly, I want to extend my full thanks and appreciation to the parent that initially contacted Stars & Stripes and questioned their motives for not reporting such an incident. We need more people who share your outrage over the other biased media outlets that wish to discredit the US military while ignoring their own problems.
Comments 8
After having read the article, I think its disgusting that DoDDS didn’t release this information sooner or until someone complained. I don’t fault the Stars Stripes of course, I spoken with their editor here in Yokosuka and found they are pretty diligent about chasing down local stories. But the fact that the base commander and his superiors didn’t jump on this in a minute. I am sure the US State Dept will wonder that one too. As our diplomats will be feeling the brunt of this crisis in Tokyo. It would be nice to have this sort of information to pass back to the Japanese as they sit all full of themselves across the negotiation table. Yet they covered it up like it was some special favor to our Japanese hosts. I think our military leaders are so used to prostrating over in the prone, bowed position, they know no other way of confronting the Japanese. Its as though they (US Commanders)don’t consider us their (Japan’s)equal. When in fact, I know from numerous conversations that deep down in side most Japanese are scared shitless of the US. (See sleeping bear)
Funny thing is we never took any shit of the Manila governement all the decades we were in the PI. Never once, did we bow down to them in any way shape or form. Our leaders to this day hold that country to the fire for any violation of the current SOFA agreement. There many case( one pending) were Marines were accused of rape in PI and but the US Military and the Embassy didn’t give the filipino governement an inch. And lets consider that the PI has been our ally far longer than the Japanese. And they help us fight the Japanese in WWII. Yet we dote on the Japanese like they are our rich grandparents who come baring gifts all the time.
If you are in the locally economy and/or married to a Japanese, you’ll find that Japanese are NOT generous people. Oh they are polite to a fault. But they are Amoral with a narcistic victim complex. It is why they never have revolutions here. Because anything that goes wrong is blamed on the Gaijin.
For centuries this country fought each other in petty scuabbles over fiefdoms, but as soon as the first dutch came along they seemed to have put aside their differences since they had a common adversary to hate. History says that the Tokogawa shogunate fell when Commodore Perry arrive. Thats a myth made up by Japanese. The real history taught in their Universities is that the Tokogawa were brought down from within.
People here are brain dead to the notion that Japanese men are sexual perverts, because the public is always bombarded by news stories about Gaijin sexual crimes. Somewhere in their warped public mind set, they think that all these bad things that Japanese do are simply a result of the bad influence of Gaijin and foreign cultures on the poor unsuspecting Japanese people.
And finally here they want the bases gone, but they don’t bother to have enough babies to support their own future self defense. 20-30 years from now when we are long gone and they need bodies to fill the ranks, those bodies won’t be the up and coming youth, they may be the old and infirmed. But they will still find a way to blame us. See you left us! You abandon us …to our fate…….
Posted 23 Feb 2008 at 9:52 pm ¶Anothe example of the Japanese blaming Americans for everything and yet this one came back to haunt them.
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) — A Japanese businessman has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife more than two decades ago, the Los Angeles Police Department said Saturday.
Kazuyoshi Miura, 60, was arrested Friday in Saipan, officials say. Cold case detectives from the LAPD were working with authorities there.
Miura and his 28-year-old wife, Kazumi, were shot in a downtown Los Angeles parking lot in November 1981. He was hit in the right leg. She was shot in the head and died in a Japanese hospital a year later.
Miura caused an international furor when he blamed the attack on street robbers. He was acquitted of the crime in Japan.
Police say Miura faces extradition to the United States. E-mail to a friend
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Posted 23 Feb 2008 at 10:00 pm ¶VoxMan is a genius…well said
Posted 25 Feb 2008 at 2:39 am ¶VoxMan.
Posted 27 Feb 2008 at 9:51 am ¶I have yet to see such an informative, well thought out, and articulate opinion regarding this incident. There is not one iota of your post that my Japanese wife and I have any dischord over. Please know that you have all my respects for sharing this wonderfully info.
VoxMan:
I am the wife of somebody.
There is nothing that I do not agree to in what you wrote.
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If you are in the locally economy and/or married to a Japanese, you’ll find that Japanese are NOT generous people. Oh they are polite to a fault. But they are Amoral with a narcistic victim complex. It is why they never have revolutions here. Because anything that goes wrong is blamed on the Gaijin.
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I have been trying so hard to make my people aware that it is wrong to blame all US soldiers and all Americans as a whole.
But it seems to be almost impossible.
Some of those Japanese people I talk with call me a traitor or a whore wagging her tail to “Gaijins”.
I let some of those Japanese people know of this article, some of them just said “This is a made-up story”. this is quite disgusting attitude.
It is largely because of our Japanese trait of “a narcistic victim complex.” that we feel inferior to “Gaijins” and are trying to bite back in a wrong way.
However there is another reason too. It is difficult for Japanese to get accurate information. The reasons is that many Japanese do not read/speak English, so the news sources that Japanese can access are quite limited. As a result, Japanese are easily deceived by propagandas or false information. I often find the discrepancies on information (about WWII too) on wikipedia between English version and Japanese version. It is a known fact that government workers are accessing wikipedia in their working hours (It means it is their official duty.)
But not all Japanese are Amoral with a narcistic victim complex.
There are many other Japanese who have common sense and decent sensitivity just like many Americans and foreigners of other countries have good commonsense and decent sensitivity.
I hope people with a good intent and good common sense in both country will be able to work on this issue together and establish a real friendship between the US and Japan someday.
Posted 27 Feb 2008 at 8:52 pm ¶Voxman and others:
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60128&archive=true
It said A police spokesman said the janitor is non-Japanese.
Do you have an accurate information?
Posted 28 Feb 2008 at 6:46 am ¶Bunny and NYC, thanks for the kind words. Please understand my wife is Japanese and I love her and her family.
Also, Bunny, I thank you for your enlightening input. Yes, my wife has pointed out the discepancies in the englis/Japanese version of things. I have even noticed a difference between say Japan Times english version of a story and the Japanese version.
Also, concerning your question, about the janitor. I don’t know the facts about his immigration status, but when this came out; my first thought was that the Okinawa police were deflecting this case by acting vague about is nationality. So this is pure speculation with as many facts as I can put in.
1. If he is not Japanese, then either he is SOFA sponsored or he is here on a Japan Work Visa.
A. If he is SOFA sponsored: then that info would come from his DoD ID, in which case the Police and J-Media would have been waving a big flag saying “See the US has a problem with Molesters on and off base too. There is simply no way they would have kept that information quiet.
B. If he is here on a Japan Work Visa, then I am truly amazed! He would be the first I’ve heard of that was granted a immigrant work visa to come to Japan to be a Janitor. Highly unlikely I would think. Though they do a education visas that allow foreigners to come to Japan to learn say Farming. But that is mainly an exploitive capacity and highly observed by the Japanese government for being a fraudulent practice. (Japanese use it to get cheap labor-see Chiba farmer killed by abused workers). So given the difficulty of obtaining a visa in this country, it is incredibly unlikely that this man (Janitor) is a special case and was granted a Visa.
C. Last possible option is that he is the husband of a Japanese citizen and therefore is on a spouse visa. Possibly! But unlikely since he would still be a gaijin. And regardless of his being married to a Japanese, I would think that the Police would announce that gaijin, foreigner visa holder is the accused. Thus immediately deflecting the attention off the idea that a Japanese was involved.
Since the Japanese Police were pressed by the J-Media to offer a description of the nationality of the accused, the answer that it was “possibly” non-Japanese would satisfy the media for the time being while deflects attention at the same time. The fact that it happened on base and base security was involved; means that they know who the guy was and his nationality. AND given their recent track record of remaining mum on accusing the Japanese Gov of anything, I am pretty sure they (US Officials) are aware and not talking about it.
SO my conclusion is that the Janitor is most likely Japanese and that with the support of the US Military, they are keeping that information quiet and pursuing the case undercover despite the fact that the base didn’t even admit that a incident happened until a dependent call the Stars And Stripes to complain.
Posted 01 Mar 2008 at 10:28 pm ¶Well put Voxman, I have been here over 4 yrs. I love the country, the people and culture. My experience with most Japanese , is that all bad things that happen here in Yokosuka are synonymus with the Battle Kat. First thing locals ask…are you from the kitty hawk? I have to explain to then, not all gaijin are from that vessel. Though for a while…it was that ship for most of the incidents. But that was then, this is now. Its hard to break that image.
Posted 24 Mar 2008 at 9:44 pm ¶Post a Comment
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