U.S. Asia Presence Tied Up in Okinawa

T O K Y O, July 5 -- The used car shops, burger joints and bustling bars around the U.S. military bases on Okinawa make it seem like a Southern California city.

But over the last couple of years, it has become a quiet battleground for one of America's last strongholds in the Pacific.

While the governments of Japan and the United States recognize the strategic importance of the 26,000 troops at Futenma and Kadena air bases, Okinawans have been festering.

Over the last decade, Okinawans have drawn the attention of the international press with complaints of crime coming from the bases. The latest flashpoint came last Friday, when a local woman accused an Air Force staff sergeant of rape.

Despite a local outcry and pointed comments today from Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Staff Sgt. Timothy Woodland has not been handed over to local authorities.

Koizumi urged Washington to do the right thing by handing over the airman.

Police in Okinawa called the suspect in for a seventh day of questioning today. He has denied committing rape and has not been charged.

"I hope that the United States will make an appropriate and proper decision soon," Koizumi said.

In recent months, American military personnel have been accused of offenses ranging from arson and hit-and-run accidents to brawling and molesting local children.

In the highest-profile case, three U.S. servicemen raped a 12-year-old schoolgirl in 1995.

There are other problems that come from the bases, Okinawans say. They cite noise — from raucous military men as well as the jets and helicopters booming across the skies — and the 10 percent of the land the bases take up on the crowded island.

Improved Response

When the Marines settled in after World War II, it was the relatively isolated and poor prefecture of Okinawa that was chosen to host the troops in Japan.

Little has changed since. Okinawans believe Tokyo puts its military ties with Washington above their interests, and the latest alleged crime, in their eyes, is only more evidence of the disparity.