Japan has urged the United States to increase strict control over military discipline after another U.S. Marine was arrested for drunk driving during a curfew in Okinawa Prefecture. This followed a previous case involving the murder of a Japanese woman linked to a U.S. Marine. The latest incident has sparked public dissatisfaction and reinforced debate about the large deployment of U.S. forces on the southern island of Japan.
Japan has called on the U.S. to strictly enforce military discipline measures after another U.S. Marine was arrested in Okinawa on suspicion of drunk driving during a curfew imposed following the murder of a Japanese woman, for which another U.S. Marine is a suspect.
Shinjiro Koizumi, Japan's Defense Minister, stated that Japan wants the U.S. side to recognize the seriousness of the incident, which occurred despite a curfew announced on 9 Oct in response to the arrest of Marine Devin Ballard on 4 Oct. Ballard was charged by prosecutors with robbery and murder of a Japanese woman in Naha, the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture.
Koizumi said Japan has demanded that the U.S. implement effective preventive measures and strictly enforce the curfew, which requires U.S. troops to return to their bases or off-base residences between midnight and 5 a.m. for 30 days, a period called the "time for self-reflection."
The Japanese defense minister noted that both sides are discussing preventive measures in high-level government meetings following the Ballard-related case, emphasizing the need to reach a conclusion quickly to announce and enforce practical measures.
Local police reported that Calvin Montoya Gardona, a 21-year-old U.S. Marine assigned to Camp Hansen, was arrested at approximately 00:25 on 31 Oct in Okinawa after his blood alcohol level was found to be more than twice the legal limit.
Police received a report of a hit-and-run incident around 00:15, then measured Gardona’s blood alcohol level, believing he had returned to the scene. Finding his level over twice the legal limit, he was arrested. Gardona admitted the charges. Police will further investigate the hit-and-run incident.
This arrest occurred during the curfew that the U.S. military began enforcing on 9 October, after a Marine stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan was arrested for robbery and murder of a Japanese woman inside a hotel in Naha.
Last week, Japanese prosecutors charged Ballard with murder. According to Yomiuri Shimbun, court documents allege that the 20-year-old suspect strangled the woman in Naha with a telephone cord inside the hotel on 3 October.
The case has sparked anger in Japan and reignited debate over the deployment of a large number of U.S. military forces in Okinawa, where most of the approximately 54,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan are based.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told parliament after the murder that the Japanese government lodged a strong protest with the U.S., demanding full cooperation in the investigation and strict discipline enforcement for U.S. military personnel.
Earlier, Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said officials are reviewing guidelines for U.S. military personnel living off-base following the alleged murder incident.
These guidelines were revised in 2024 after several sexual assault cases involving U.S. troops in Okinawa. They prohibit soldiers from drinking alcohol in public off-base between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., and from entering bars during those hours.
The latest incident has reinforced Japan’s demand that the U.S. take serious responsibility for controlling troop discipline amid Japanese public sensitivity to crimes involving U.S. military personnel and concerns about the impact of the military presence in Okinawa.
.sourceAFP/The Japan Times