Japanese police are investigating two Marines accused of sexual assault on Okinawa, Japan, according to several news reports and tacit confirmation from the service in which a spokesperson did not offer basic details about the incidents.
The alleged assaults occurred separately earlier this year, one in January and the other in March, Stars and Stripes reported on Thursday, both involving Marines in their 20s, citing a local Japanese law enforcement official. CBS also reported that the two Marines were suspected of separately raping Japanese women and that the cases have been referred to prosectutors.
The new accusations follow four known accusations of sexual misconduct against U.S. troops in Okinawa over the last year, though at least one set of charges was dropped against a Marine in January. The string of alleged crimes by troops stationed in Okinawa has roiled long-standing discontent among the local community against U.S. military presence there as American officials attempt to ensure rank-and-file discipline and diplomatic assurances amid a contentious, strategic time in the Pacific.
"We take seriously the recent incidents involving U.S. service members stationed in Okinawa and are fully cooperating with local authorities throughout the course of each case," 1st Lt. Grant Hoel, a spokesperson for Marine Corps Installations Japan Pacific, said in an emailed statement on Sunday evening.
Military.com asked the service to confirm that two Marines were under investigation, and to provide information about the service members and details regarding the accusations. The publication also asked whether the service had any comment on how the recent cases are affecting local sentiment about the large military presence on the island.
"We provide every member of our force regular education and training throughout their careers to ensure service members follow local laws and U.S. military regulations," Hoel continued without directly addressing the questions. "We will work closely with our Japanese allies to ensure U.S. personnel maintain the highest standards of behavior and conduct in support of our mutual security."
Earlier this month, dozens of representatives from the U.S. military, Okinawa police, local government and neighborhood groups patrolled popular off-duty hangouts outside Kadena Air Base in an effort to ease tensions caused by previous troop misconduct, Stars and Stripes reported. It was the first time such a patrol had been conducted since the 1970s.
Following several high-profile cases of sexual assault and rape allegations againts U.S. troops in Okinawa, military officials imposed stricter rules around drinking, including sobriety checks and curfews, Military.com reported last year.
It was unclear how effective those measures had been, given the allegations against Marines earlier this year; Stars and Stripes noted that leaders on the joint nightlife patrol this month encountered roughly 20 service members out drinking late at night in Okinawa.
"We deeply value the ties of trust and friendship we have built over many decades with our Japanese hosts, and I am committed to doing everything I can to prevent actions that may jeopardize these bonds," George Glass, U.S. ambassador to Japan, said last week, CBS reported, noting that the U.S. will cooperate with Japan amid the investigations.
Glass just arrived in Japan on April 18 to assume ambassadorial duties. It was not the first time that diplomats and military officials had to address allegations of troop misconduct recently; In July, Military.com reported then-U.S. ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and Marine Lt. Gen. Roger Turner, the commander of the III Marine Expeditionary Force, penned a joint letter expressing "deep regret" amid two different sexual assault cases involving a Marine and airman.
The history of troop sexual misconduct on Okinawa, an island that bears the lion's share of infrastructure and military personnel in Japan, goes back decades. In 1995, a sailor and two Marines kidnapped, beat and raped a 12-year-old Okinawan girl, resulting in their sentencing to a Japanese prison and intense outrage from the local community.
Criminal allegations against U.S. troops in Japan have continued. In 2016, a U.S. sailor was arrested for injuring two people while driving intoxicated; a Kadena Air Base worker, also a Marine veteran, was arrested in connection with a rape and murder of a Japanese woman around the same time; and in 2023, two Marines, one accused of punching an elderly Japanese woman, spurred stricter liberty rules for the service in Japan.
The incidents often result in apologies from U.S. officials, stricter rules for service members in Japan and continued anger from local politicians, most recently with Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki calling the latest two cases "deplorable," CBS News reported.
Meanwhile, strategic tension in the Pacific continues between the U.S. and China, with Japan positioned as a key American ally. Okinawa remains a strategic basing location that allows the U.S. to project military force throughout the region.
In initial statements following his arrival to Japan, Glass said the U.S. must take into account the safety of Americans, U.S. interests and military support while also considering the safety of Japanese citizens "to be able to successfully push back against a country like China."
Earlier this year, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith expressed concern over a U.S. agreement with the Japanese government that would require the Corps to move thousands of troops out of Okinawa, going on to say the move "puts us going the wrong way" in its posturing toward China, Military.com previously reported.
Related: Troops in Japan Banned from Late-Night Drinking After String of Alleged Sexual Assaults on Okinawa
