Japan Detains Two U.S. Military Personnel
(MENAFN) Over the weekend, Okinawa police detained two U.S. military personnel on suspicion of assaulting Japanese citizens, according to local media reports on Monday.
On Saturday, authorities arrested Tomas Salazar, a 25-year-old airman from the U.S. Air Force’s Kadena base, after he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend in a parking lot, media reported. The woman, in her 20s, was reportedly knocked down and punched multiple times in the face around 3:30 a.m., resulting in injuries to her mouth. Salazar has denied all charges.
The following day, police apprehended 21-year-old Gabriel Monize, a private 1st class from the U.S. Marine Corps’ Camp Hansen, after he was accused of injuring a 40-year-old Japanese man by placing his hands around the man’s neck shortly after midnight. The victim was reportedly sitting in his parked car when Monize suddenly entered and assaulted him from behind. Monize has denied the allegations and refused to undergo an alcohol test, the report added.
These incidents come on the heels of a formal apology issued by senior U.S. Marine Corps officials stationed in Okinawa for a sexual assault case involving a Marine. This marked the first official apology after a series of similar offenses by U.S. service members surfaced over the past year.
Neil Owens, chief of staff for the Third Marine Division, visited the Okinawa prefectural government office in Naha City on July 3, stating, "We apologize for the anxiety this has caused the people of Okinawa, and our thoughts are with the victim in this case."
This apology followed the June 24 sentencing by the Naha District Court of 22-year-old Marine Jamel Clayton, who was given a seven-year prison term for attempting to sexually assault a local woman and injuring her in May of last year.
Okinawa, which comprises only 0.6 percent of Japan’s total landmass, hosts 70 percent of all U.S. military bases in the country. The local population has long expressed frustration over crimes committed by U.S. military personnel and civilian contractors stationed on the islands.
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