The US Department of Defense is launching an evaluation of measures taken by US forces in Japan against violent crimes, as cases of sexual violence involving service members in Okinawa Prefecture continue to occur.
The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General released a memorandum on Tuesday.
It said the evaluation aims to assess how US forces personnel complied with policies for preventing and addressing sexual assault and other violent crimes.
The memorandum says that service members who committed violent crimes against Japanese nationals will be subject to an examination of their performance, training and criminal history.
It also says the evaluation will be conducted at several locations, including the US Marine Corps headquarters at Camp Courtney in Okinawa, Yokota Air Base in Tokyo and Yokosuka base in Kanagawa.
In Okinawa, a district court sentenced a US Air Force member to five years in prison for sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 16 in 2023.
This year, a US Marine, also in Okinawa, was indicted for allegedly sexually assaulting a Japanese woman and injuring another in a restroom on a US military base.
The US military has introduced measures in Okinawa to prevent a recurrence whenever such cases have come to light, such as restricting entry to establishments that serve alcohol and stepping up patrols, but incidents continue to occur.
AloJapan.com