Sex And Race In Okinawa

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Police reports are sketchy about what happened next, but a Japanese weekly, the Shukan Bunshun, reports that the woman climbed out of the car when her seatmate became too aggressive. She got about 60 ft. away from the car when the American caught up with her. A few moments later, a Marine friend who was planning to drive the woman home came looking for her. He found her face down on the hood of a station wagon, a black man having intercourse with her from behind. When the Marine called out, the man zipped up and hopped into a car driven by his friends. The vehicle's license plate, eyewitnesses say, bore the letter Y--signifying a military vehicle. At 2:32 a.m. local police received a call from the woman's friend. Soon, blue-uniformed officers were pacing the parking lot. Short, the 3F bar manager, had just closed up and, puzzled by the crowd gathering outside, asked a serviceman, "What's up?" The answer: a rape.

The incident sparked a crisis in U.S.-Japan relations. For four days after an arrest warrant was issued on July 2, the U.S. refused to hand Woodland over to Okinawa police, infuriating Okinawans and many other Japanese. Under the Status of Forces Agreement between Japan and the U.S.--the so-called SOFA, which dictates service members' legal rights in Japan--those charged with a criminal offense are protected from incarceration by the Japanese until after they are indicted. Among the reasons for this is the long, isolating detention period, which the U.S. considers overly harsh. It was only after a 12-year-old schoolgirl was raped by three servicemen in 1995 that the U.S. bent its objections and promised to consider handing over suspects prior to indictment in cases of "heinous" crimes. Okinawa had been transformed by the 1995 attack, and rage against the presence of U.S. forces overflowed into the streets. Victims formed support groups; students learned to rally. Over every incident, big and small, that followed, politicians pelted the U.S. military with demands that it impose curfews, change treaties and shut down bases. The three men are serving seven-year sentences in a special Japanese prison ward for U.S. servicemen south of Tokyo--in which Woodland will probably be placed if he loses his case. After serving their sentence, the men will receive dishonorable discharges and be returned to the U.S.

Incensed over the perceived foot dragging in the Woodland case, hundreds of Okinawans protested. The uproar reached all the way to President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, upsetting their first summit meeting in Washington. The U.S. Air Force eventually gave Woodland up. He was arrested by the Japanese on July 6, a week after the incident, and indicted on rape charges 15 days later.