Or.....
Maybe he could get used to killin' Iranian Generals.
Posted on 10/05/2026 6:48:23 AM PDT by BenLurkin
For many Okinawa locals, the arrest of a US soldier accused of robbing and killing a woman in a hotel room has reignited decades of frustration over crimes involving US military personnel there.
"Honestly my first reaction was, 'Not again,'" 52-year-old longtime Okinawa resident Ai Sato told the BBC.
"Nothing has changed since I was a child. How many times are we going to repeat the same thing, create more victims, cause their families to suffer, and ultimately, cause the people of Okinawa to grieve?"
Akemi Oshiro, a 62-year-old Ginowan resident shared similar sentiments.
"I know we shouldn't get used to terrible things like this, but because they keep happening, I've stopped being surprised," she told the BBC.
Okinawa hosts the largest US military presence in Japan. It is home to several US military bases and tens of thousands of American troops.
US Marine Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, was arrested by Japanese police on Sunday. Police say an investigation is underway and that Ballard is in Japanese custody because the alleged crime was unrelated to official military duties.
Whether a US service member is acting in the performance of official duty or not can determine which country has primary jurisdiction. When Japan has jurisdiction, but the suspect is under US custody, they can retain custody until Japan brings charges.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
This crime is now, in this world, the war you are referencing was a long time ago from a different Japan and a different world from today’s 21st century reality.
“””””It’s been 80 years since, and they are one of our best allies.”””””
A big ace in the hole for us, and they are in their biggest military buildup since WWII, they are looking at changing their constitution and removing some of their military restraints.
“It’s been 80 years since, and they are one of our best allies.”
And I hope it stays that way. But their Samurai tradition goes back a thousand years.
without the benefit of a trial it is murder
Ha! I like it. It’s been 60 years since they released that movie, the bad guys will never see it coming.
If a service member commits a crime in another country, is he subject to the laws and justice system of that country? Subject to their laws before getting into the UCMJ process?
Here is the story on the 3 rapists, it appears the villagers knew who they were, my guess is that the repeated village rapes stopped when they disappeared.
“On 14 July 1945, three African-American United States Marines were killed by the residents of Katsuyama, Okinawa, Japan. The villagers reportedly killed the three Marines after identifying them as the same Marines who had committed a series of rapes against village women following the Battle of Okinawa and hid their bodies in a nearby cave out of fear for retaliation.
The killings were kept secret by the village until 1997, when a Japanese employee of a nearby U.S. Air Force base was informed about the killings by an anonymous resident.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1945_Katsuyama_killing_incident
The last time I was assigned to Okinawa, when I arrived in the Spring of 1992, all of the bases were on lock-down because a US Marine murdered an Okinawan in Kin, the village outside of Camp Hansen.
I would later learn from his boss (the Wire Chief at 9th Communications Battalion), that the Marine was at a bar and was hit upon by a gay Japanese man, and the Marine proceeded to bash his head in with a flower pot.
If the evidence shows him to be guilty of this crime, I have zero sympathy for him.
This time around America is the 800 pound gorilla and Japan’s best friend, and the biggest counter to China and Russia, while China is a 400 pound gorilla and China and Russia are Japan’s worst enemies.
America and Japan have very close ties and are on the same team this time.
Then he lives another 20 or 30 years.
Most of the force in Japan is located at Okinawa. Okinawa Statistics (1972–2022):
The Okinawa Prefectural Police logged 27 murder cases alongside 134 cases of rape and 398 cases of robbery involving U.S. military-connected personnel out of over 6,100 total criminal offense. When you consider Las Vegas, NV, has a far bigger crime rate with about the same population, this incident is a stretch for news.
wy69
Depends on Status of Forces agreement. We have them with the coutries we have troops stationed in.
The USA gives more military aid to Japan - one of the wealthiest large countries in the world - than it gives to Israel.
“””””The USA gives more military aid to Japan - one of the wealthiest large countries in the world - than it gives to Israel.”””””
Would you show those two numbers?
Too bad Okinawa was on the losing side in WW2 and saw thousands of Americans killed taking the island. Without that, there would likely be no Marines there.
SOFA will dictate who gets him. About thirty years ago a guy got caught breaking into the Jap tombs and steali.ng the skulls, Haps got to punish him.
“””””In case anyone gets confused...
The USA gives more military aid to Japan - one of the wealthiest large countries in the world - than it gives to Israel.”””””
Isn’t the Japan figure zero?
Don’t they give us a couple of billion dollars to defray the cost of our troops we keep there?
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