US marine sentenced in Okinawa sparks safety concerns

A Japanese court has found a US Marine guilty of sexually assaulting a woman on Okinawa and sentenced him to seven years in prison, in a case that has triggered anger and safety concerns on Japan's southern island, which has a heavy American troop presence.

The Naha District Court said Lance Cpl Jamel Clayton, 22, of Ohio, was sentenced in the case on Tuesday.

Clayton was found guilty of attacking the woman in her 20s in the Yomitan village on the main Okinawa island in May 2024, chocking her from behind, sexually assaulting her and causing her injuries.

In sentencing, Judge Kazuhiko Obata said the victim's testimony, provided remotely and anonymously, was highly credible even though the defendant denied his charges brought by the prosecutors, who demanded 10 years in prison, according to Kyodo News.

“This behaviour does not reflect the values of the Marine Corps nor does it exemplify the standards the overwhelming majority of our Marines uphold daily,” Capt Kazuma Engelkemier, spokesperson for 3rd Marine Division, said in a statement confirming Clayton's conviction emailed on Wednesday.

Engelkemier said the US side monitored the trial proceedings without interfering in the Japanese judicial process. “We cooperated fully with the investigation process,” he said.

The Marine has been in Japanese custody since his indictment that followed the allegation, he added.

The case was one of a string of sexual assault cases last year in which the arrests of the suspects were initially withheld by local authorities on grounds of protecting the victims' privacy, triggering anger and criticisms of coverups.

Okinawa, where one of the fiercest battles of World War II was fought 80 years ago and under US occupation until 1972, remains home to the majority of about 50,000 US troops stationed in Japan under a bilateral security pact. The island, which accounts for only 0.6 per cent of Japanese land, hosts 70 per cent of US military facilities.

Frustration runs high on Okinawa because of its continued burden with the heavy US presence that includes noise, pollution, aircraft accidents and crime related to American troops.

Defence Minister Gen Nakatani, who attended Monday's 80th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa, raised concerns about recent sexual assault cases involving US service members when he met with Lt Gen Roger Turner, the commander of III Marine Expeditionary Force, requesting discipline and preventive measures.

There has been growing calls for a revision to the Status of Forces Agreement that gives the United States the right to investigate most accidents and crimes that occur on Japanese soil.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's cabinet on Tuesday adopted a statement showing that the Japanese prosecutors dropped criminal cases against more than 300 US service members in the last decade between 2014 and 2024, including a sexual assault case in Okinawa in 2020.