Abe protests Okinawa crime:
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe protested to US President Barack Obama on Wednesday about the killing of a young woman in Okinawa which has reignited resentment of the heavy US military presence on the southern Japanese island.
Obama, joining Abe ahead of a Group of Seven summit, expressed regrets over the killing for which a US base worker has been charged.
“As Japanese prime minister, I protested sternly to President Obama over the recent incident in Okinawa,” Abe told a news conference, flanked by the president ahead of a Group of Seven summit meeting starting on Thursday.
“I feel strong indignation about the selfish and extremely mean crime,” Abe said.
Obama, arriving from a visit to Vietnam, told a joint news conference after his meeting with Abe: “I extended my sincerest condolences and deepest regrets... The United States will continue to cooperate fully with the investigation and ensure justice is done under the Japanese legal system.”
Okinawa, the site of a brutal World War Two battle, hosts the bulk of US military forces in Japan and many residents resent what they see as an unfair burden.
Many also associate the bases with crime, pollution and noise. The rape of a Japanese schoolgirl by US military personnel in 1995 sparked huge anti-base demonstrations.
Both governments want to keep the incident from fanning further opposition to an agreement to relocate the US Marines’ Futenma air base to a less populous part of Okinawa, a plan first agreed upon after the 1995 rape but opposed by the island’s governor and many residents who want the base off the island entirely.
“The government is fully aware of the seriousness and graveness of the recent incident in Okinawa, and considering the feelings of the people, Prime Minister Abe will seek strict measures from President Obama,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said this week.
Obama is also set to make a historic visit to Hiroshima, site of the world’s first atomic bombing, on Friday, after attending the G7 summit.
Both governments are hoping the Hiroshima visit will showcase a strong alliance between the former wartime foes.
Concerns about the health of the global economy will top the agenda at the G7 summit, although full agreement on macro-economic policy looks hard to come by.