Unpacking Okinawa’s “Suitcase Murder”: Revisiting Extraterritoriality Protections for Military Contractors Under the U.S.-Japan SOFA Supplementary Agreement

Brandon Marc Higa*

I. INTRODUCTION ...... 2 II. “THE SUITCASE MURDER”: 2016 RAPE AND MURDER OF RINA SHIMABUKURO ...... 9 A. Arrest and Prosecution of Kenneth Franklin Gadson ...... 11 B. Gadson’s Petition for a Trial in Tokyo to Escape Okinawan Lay Judges’ “Victim’s Mindset” ...... 14 C. Gadson’s Confessions Reveal Detachment from the Host Community and a Desire to Commit Sexual Violence Against Okinawan Women ...... 19 D. Conflicting Priorities of Bilateral U.S.-Japan Security Alliance and Preserving Human Security for Okinawan Women ...... 22 III. FEMINIST ALTERNATIVE TO TRADITIONAL SECURITY PARADIGMS .... 24 A. Militarization and Hypermasculinity Separates U.S. Servicemen from Host Communities ...... 25 B. Geopolitics and Gendered Hierarchies ...... 28 C. Negative Impacts of Militarization and Hypermasculinity on Host Communities: Separation of Cultures and Objectification of Locals ...... 29 1. U.S. Military Operations Creates a “Need” for Institutionalized Prostitution as a Form of Recreation ...... 30 2. Abuse of Women and Children in Host Communities ...... 32 IV. FEMINIST CRITIQUE OF U.S.-JAPAN SOFA ...... 34 A. National Rhetoric Fails to Address Crimes in Host

* Brandon Marc Higa, J.D., William S. Richardson School of Law, The University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa. B.A. & M.A., University of Southern California. This research was supported by the Sam and Helen Piesner Endowed Scholarship for Japanese Legal Studies, Judge Martin Pence Abota Scholarship, and Frank Boas Award. Thank you to Professors Mark A. Levin and Tae-Ung Baik for supervising my research on human rights issues in Okinawa. I would also like to express my appreciation for support from Dr. Kelli Nakamura and Pete Shimazaki Doktor, who continue to serve as inspiration for my research on contemporary Okinawa issues. This article would not be possible without the editorial contributions of Brian Wild, Zack Naqvi, Rachel Goldberg, Ashllyn Melo-Pang, and Norman Capinpin. This article is dedicated to my beloved Aunty Kazu who is among the many resilient Okinawan women who built a new life for future generations of Okinawan Americans in Hawaiʻi. 2 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2

Communities ...... 35 B. Where Are the Numbers? Lack of Accurate Reporting of Acts of Sexual Violence against Local Women Obfuscate the Problem ...... 37 V. SECURITY FOR WHOM? CALL FOR REVISION OF THE SECURITY OF FORCES AGREEMENT ...... 39 A. 2017 SOFA Supplemental Agreement Responds to Okinawa Women’s Movement ...... 40 1. Legal Loopholes Protecting U.S. Servicemen and Civilian Components for Crimes Committed while Off Duty ...... 40 2. 2017 SOFA Supplemental Agreement Eliminates Legal Loophole by Expanding Legal Jurisdiction to Military Contractors ...... 42 3. 2017 SOFA Supplemental Agreement Includes New Data Reporting Requirements to Improve Crime Statistics ...... 45 B. Due Process Concerns for U.S. Servicemen Stationed Overseas ...... 46 VI. CONCLUSION ...... 49

I. INTRODUCTION The U.S.-Japan Security Alliance and Status of Forces Agreement (“SOFA”) 1 has been viewed as a lingering symbol of American imperialism,2 although it was initially conceived to facilitate the long-term bilateral alliance between the U.S. and Japan.3 Since the United States’ initial occupation of Japan at the end of World War II, 4 the SOFA has

1 Signed into effect on January 19, 1960 and formally recognized as the "Agreement under Article VI of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between Japan and the United States of America, Regarding Facilities and Areas and the Status of United States Armed Forces in Japan." The SOFA replaced the 1951 San Francisco Treaty of Peace with Japan. 2 See Tyler J. Hill, Revision of the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA): Relinquishing U.S. Legal Authority in the Name of American Foreign Policy, 32 UCLA PAC. BASIN L.J. 105, 110 (2015) [hereinafter Hill] (arguing that the “SOFA has devolved into one of the most contentious issues confronting the U.S.-Japan security alliance … [and] has been recast as a symbol of American imperialism); Gwyn Kirk and Carolyn Bowen Francis, Redefining Security: Women Challenge U.S. Military Policy and Practice in East Asia, 15 BERKELEY WOMEN'S L.J. at 229 (2000) [hereinafter Kirk & Francis] (arguing that SOFAs in Japan and other parts of East Asia compromise the security of local people).

3 See generally Robert D. Eldridge, THE ORIGINS OF THE BILATERAL OKINAWA PROBLEM: OKINAWA IN POSTWAR U.S.-JAPAN RELATIONS, 1945-1952 (Edward Beauchamp, ed. 2016).

4 See generally JOHN W. DOWER, EMBRACING DEFEAT: JAPAN IN THE WAKE OF WORLD WAR II, (1999); see also GAVAN MCCORMACK, CLIENT STATE: JAPAN IN THE 2020] Higa 3 remained intact as the legal framework legitimizing forward deployment of troops5 and operations in Japan for nearly six decades.6 Although the U.S. military bases in Okinawa are integral to advancing the U.S. and Japan’s geopolitical interests in the Asia-Pacific, military activities pose a threat to the human security of host communities.7 Okinawan women’s groups seek a definition of national security inclusive of protections from environmental

AMERICAN EMBRACE 1-28 (2007) (characterizing Japan’s willingness to continue fulfilling its obligations under the SOFA as an unquestioning ally of the United States willing to sacrifice national identity in pursuit of technological, capital, and economic development); Makoto Iokibe, WHAT WAS JAPANESE POST-WAR DIPLOMACY, IN THE DIPLOMATIC HISTORY OF POSTWAR JAPAN 210-236 (Makoto Iokibe, ed., Robert D. Eldridge trans., Routledge, 2011)(characterizing U.S. occupation of Japan as “indirect” to facilitate Japan’s transition from a military empire to the first non-Western state to successfully modernize following the Unconditional Surrender placed by former U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt). 5 See Tim O’Connor, North Korea Crisis: Japan Is Growing Its Military for the First Time Since World War II Because of Kim Jong Un, NEWSWEEK (Sep. 21, 2017) http://www.newsweek.com/north-korea-crisis-japan-bigger-military-role-ashes-war- 669217 (quoting Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono’s announcement that “Japan is assuming more responsibility in the area of security and defense than ever before, Japan has increased its defense budget for five consecutive years, upgrading our defense capability, such as Japan's ballistic missile defense system”); see also Anna Fifield, Japan Warns Citizens They Might Only Have 10 Minutes to Prepare for a North Korean Missile, WASH. POST (Apr. 25, 2017), https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/04/25/nervous-over-north- korea-japan-issues-guidelines-for-missile-attack/; Choe Sang-Hun, North Korea Cancels Investigation into Abductions of Japanese Citizens, N.Y. TIMES (Feb. 13, 2016), https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/14/world/asia/north-korea-japan-abductions.html. 6 See Scott Neuman, Trump, During Visit to Japan, Talks Trade and North Korea (Nov. 6, 2017), NATIONAL PUB. RADIO, https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo- way/2017/11/06/562269137/trump-during-visit-to-japan-talks-trade-and-north-korea (reporting President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's mutual commitment to providing regional security by increasing international pressure on North Korea to end its nuclear ambitions and ballistic missile development).

7 See generally, Miyume Tanji, MYTH, PROTEST AND STRUGGLE IN OKINAWA (2006); Matthew Allen, IDENTITY AND RESISTANCE IN OKINAWA (2002); see also Gavan McCormack & Satoko Norimatsu, RESISTANT ISLANDS: OKINAWA CONFRONTS JAPAN AND THE UNITED STATES (2012); Carolyn Bowen Francis, “Women and Military Violence”, in OKINAWA: COLD WAR ISLAND (Chalmers Johnson, ed. 1999). 4 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2 harms, 8 drunk driving incidents, 9 military aircraft crashes into civilian areas, 10 and acts of sexual violence against Okinawan women and children.11 Okinawa became one of the most politically explosive hosts of U.S. military bases 12 following the abduction and rape of a twelve-year old schoolgirl. On September 4, 1995, three U.S. servicemen 13 abducted a

8 See U.S. Court Revives Suit Seeking to Protect Dugong Habitat at Okinawa Base Site (Aug. 22, 2017), JAPAN TIMES, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/08/22/national/crime-legal/9th-u-s-circuit-court- appeals-revives-suit-protect-dugong-habitat-okinawa-base-site/ (reporting on a lawsuit brought by The Center for Biological Diversity against the U.S. Government under the U.S. Endangered Species Act seeking an injunction to stop the construction of a U.S. military base in Our Bay, the natural habitat of the Okinawan dugong, a critically endangered species); see also Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. Mattis, 868 F.3d 803 (9th Cir. 2017). 9 See U.S. Marine Arrested for DUI After Involvement in Naha Fatal Collision (Nov. 20, 2017), RYUKYU SHIMPO, http://english.ryukyushimpo.jp/2017/11/24/28093/ (documenting a fatal crash resulting from a U.S. Marine who killed a 61-year-old Okinawan driver while under the influence of alcohol). 10 See Jeff Shogol, Pilot Error Caused Marine Osprey Crash in Okinawa, Investigators Find (Sep. 11, 2017), MARINE CORPS TIMES, https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2017/09/11/pilot-error- caused-marine-osprey-crash-investigators-find/; see also Matthew M. Burke and Hana Kusumoto, Window from Super Stallion Lands on Okinawa Elementary School's Sports Field, STARS AND STRIPES (Dec. 13, 2017) https://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/window-from-super-stallion-lands-on-okinawa- elementary-school-s-sports-field-1.502150 (reporting that "[a] window from a Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter inexplicably fell from the sky... and landed on a field where schoolchildren were playing [at Futenma Daini Elementary School]."); US Helicopter Part Crashes on Japanese School in Okinawa, BBC NEWS (Dec. 13, 2017), http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42335091 ("The US military confirmed in a statement that the window of one of its helicopters fell onto the sports ground of an elementary school outside the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma."). 11 See Takazato Suzuyo, Okinawan Women Demand U.S. Forces Out After Another Rape and Murder: Suspect an ex-Marine and U.S. Military Employee, 14 ASIA- PACIFIC J. 1 (Emma Dalton, trans.) (2016); Chalmers Johnson, The Okinawan Rape Incident and the End of the Cold War in East Asia, 27 CAL. W. INT'L L.J. 389 (1997) [hereinafter Johnson]. 12 The U.S. maintains over 1,000 military installations worldwide. 13 Navy Seaman Marcus Gill, Marine Rodrico Harp, and Marine Kendrick Ledet. A fourth serviceman left before the commission of the crime when he realized that Seaman Gill was serious about abducting and raping a schoolgirl instead of paying for a prostitute. See Kozue Akibayashi and Suzuyo Takazato, Okinawa: Women’s Struggle for Demilitarization, in THE BASES OF EMPIRE: THE GLOBAL STRUGGLE AGAINST U.S. MILITARY POSTS 243-69 (Catherine Lutz, ed. 2009); see also Adam B. Norman, The Rape Controversy: Is a Revision of the Status of Forces Agreement with Japan Necessary?, in 6 INDIANA INT’L & COMP. L. REV. 717-40 (1996); Teresa Watanabe, Okinawa Rape Suspect's Lawyer Gives Dark Account: Japan: Attorney of accused Marine says co-defendant admitted assaulting 12-year-old girl 'just for fun' (Oct. 28, 2020] Higa 5 twelve-year-old Okinawan schoolgirl on her way home from a stationery store as part of a premeditated act of sexual violence committed “just for fun.”14 At trial, the attorney for one of the servicemen relayed “a disturbing account of three men out to buy sex and deciding on rape instead, because one of them did not have enough money.”15 The men abducted the sixth grader, bound her with duct tape, then beat16 and violently raped her before disposing of her in a remote field.17 The three men returned to base where they were protected under the SOFA from being arrested by Okinawan investigative authorities under the suspicion of the crime. 18 The initial refusal of U.S. military authorities to hand over the three U.S. servicemen to Japanese law enforcement created resentment toward the U.S. for using the SOFA as an umbrella to protect alleged rapists and murderers from arrest and prosecution. 19 This animosity precipitated a prefecture-wide referendum demanding the U.S. and Japanese governments revise the SOFA

1995), L.A. TIMES, http://articles.latimes.com/1995-10-28/news/mn-62075_1_japanese- girl; Andrew Pollack, One Pleads Guilty to Okinawa Rape; 2 Others Admit Role (Nov. 8, 1995), N.Y. TIMES, http://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/08/world/one-pleads-guilty-to- okinawa-rape-2-others-admit-role.html; See David McNeill, Special Report: US Troops Are Stationed in Japan to Protect the Nation. But to Sex Workers in Okinawa, They Bring Fear, Not Security, INDEPENDENT (Jun. 16, 2013) http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/special-report-us-troops-are-stationed-in- japan-to-protect-the-nation-but-to-sex-workers-in-okinawa-8661078.html (“President Barack Obama … called the [acts of sexual violence by U.S. servicemen on host communities as] a national security problem after a Pentagon report estimated there were 26,000 sexual assaults inside the US armed forces last year…In response, military commanders have been ordered to tighten discipline and crack down on misconduct”) [hereinafter Special Report]. 14 See Andrew Pollack, One Pleads Guilty to Okinawa Rape; 2 Others Admit Role (Nov. 8, 1995), N.Y. TIMES, http://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/08/world/one-pleads- guilty-to-okinawa-rape-2-others-admit-role.html [hereinafter Pollack] (reporting that "the suspects had planned the attack, going to a store to buy condoms and adhesive tape, which they used to cover the victim's eyes and mouth and bind her hands and feet"). 15 See Teresa Watanabe, Okinawa Rape Suspect's Lawyer Gives Dark Account: Japan: Attorney of accused Marine says co-defendant admitted assaulting 12-year-old girl 'just for fun' (Oct. 28, 1995), L.A. TIMES, http://articles.latimes.com/1995-10- 28/news/mn-62075_1_japanese-girl [hereinafter Watanabe].

16 See POLLACK, supra note 14 (reporting that "the suspects [were] accused of beating her in the face and stomach to subdue her, causing injuries that required two weeks of medical treatment").

17 See WATANABE, supra, note 15. 18 Article VI of Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security Between the United States and Japan, 1960, Art. XVII 5(c) The custody of an accused member of the United States armed forces or the civilian component over whom Japan is to exercise jurisdiction shall, if he is in the hands of the United States, remain with the United States until he is charged by Japan. U.S.-Japan, Jan. 19, 1960, 11 U.S.T. 1652 at 30. 19 See Chalmers Johnson, The Okinawan Rape Incident and the End of the Cold War in East Asia, 27 CAL. W. INT'L L.J. 389 (1997); SUZUYO, supra note 11. 6 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2 to prevent American troops from evading arrest for committing heinous crimes against local citizens.20 The 1995 rape incident revealed the inherent problems with U.S. troops avoiding arrest and prosecution for heinous acts under the SOFA’s concurrent jurisdiction provision.21 Despite the unprecedented pressure to hold U.S. troops accountable for crimes committed in host communities, the U.S. and Japan refused to revise the SOFA to expand Japanese criminal jurisdiction to arrest and prosecute American troops who commit crimes while off duty. Instead, U.S. military authorities enacted measures regulating drinking and imposing a curfew to placate anti-base protestors, who alleged that nothing was being done to prevent American troops from committing future crimes in host communities. 22 These merely symbolic measures became a standard response by U.S. military authorities to local controversies that arose from aircraft crashes, noise complaints, and crimes committed against local Okinawan people.23 Many U.S. troops stationed in Okinawa grew resentful of the strict two-drink limit and 10:00 p.m. curfew, which are not present in other bases throughout the world. Consequently, mutual resentment grew between U.S. troops and local Okinawan citizens as both believed that the other was responsible for their problems.24 U.S. and Japanese government officials coined the term “the Okinawa problem” (沖 縄 問 題) to trivialize the complicated history underlying the Okinawan citizens’ strong opposition toward the continued

20 See Chalmers Johnson, The Okinawan Rape Incident and the End of the Cold War in East Asia, 27 CAL. W. INT'L L.J. 389 (1997); SUZUYO, supra note 11; Women Activists Join Struggle for Peace in Okinawa (Jul. 11, 2017), SUMMIT MAG., http://www.summitzine.com/posts/women-activists-join-struggle-for-peace-in-okinawa/ [hereinafter Women Activists Join Peace Struggle for Okinawa]. 21 On September 4, 1995 three American servicemen kidnapped, beat and gang- raped a twelve-year-old Okinawan schoolgirl. The U.S. service men - Navy Seaman Marcus Gill, Marine Rodrico Harp, and Marine Kendrick Ledet – admitted to abducting the minor from a stationery store, binding her with duct tape, and taking her to a remote field where she was violently raped. Four days later on September 8th, the Okinawan police used car rental records to track down the perpetrators, and immediately issued warrants for their arrest. However, the Okinawan police was unable to arrest the alleged rapists since they are protected under the Security of Forces Agreement. See CHALMERS JOHNSON, OKINAWA: THE POLITICAL AND MILITARY SETTING, IN OKINAWA: COLD WAR ISLAND 109-32 (Chalmers Johnson, ed., Japan Policy Research Institute, 1999) [hereinafter JOHNSON: COLD WAR ISLAND]; Yumiko Mikanagi, Okinawa: Women, Bases and US-Japan Relations, 4 INT’L REL. OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC 97, 97-111 (2004).

22 See SPECIAL REPORT, supra note 13 (reporting that [U.S. servicemen] are allowed to consume just two alcoholic drinks, with a meal, and they must be back at 10pm – recognition that booze, late nights and young soldiers are a potentially lethal mix"). 23 Id. 24 Id. 2020] Higa 7

U.S. military base presence. 25 Although Okinawan citizens and local government officials sought redress through the harms caused by the U.S. military operations, the SOFA’s extraterritoriality provision limited U.S. liability for these actions. Japan and U.S. national security interests took precedence over the Okinawan citizens’ rights to receive protection and seek compensation through the Japanese legal system. The “Okinawa problem” reached a tipping point for the U.S.-Japan alliance in 2016 following the disappearance of a twenty-year-old local Okinawan woman, whose body was later discovered a month later decomposing in a suitcase. The gruesome details of Rina Shimabukuro’s kidnapping and murder by a U.S. military contractor led to widespread protests by local citizen activists, resulting in disruption in U.S. military activities at Camp Schwab and ongoing construction for the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma project. 26 The U.S. and Japanese governments mutually agreed to revisit the SOFA to address systemic failures in deterring crimes committed by off-duty military personnel. These bilateral talks led to a supplemental agreement aimed at eliminating legal loopholes in the extraterritoriality provision, aimed at protecting U.S. armed forces and civilian components from incurring criminal liability for causing unintentional harms to Japanese nationals as a result of high-risk military exercises. Although the extraterritoriality provision is primarily intended to apply to situations involving U.S. personnel while on-duty, this immunity prevented Japanese law enforcement from taking custody of American suspects accused of sexual assault and other violent crimes against local Okinawan people. The 2017 SOFA supplemental agreement addressed three concerns raised by feminist international relations scholars regarding the inequities inherent in SOFA provisions. 27 First, the supplemental agreement’s deviation clause (DEVIATION 2018-O0019) updated classification of civilian contractors and imposed stricter qualification requirements to improve screening of contractors. 28 Second, new data reporting

25 See SUZUYO, supra note 11 at 1.

26 See generally Gavan McCormack & Satoko Oka Norimatsu, RESISTANT ISLANDS: OKINAWA CONFRONTS JAPAN AND THE U.S. 3 (2012) [hereinafter RESISTANT ISLANDS]. 27 U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, DARS 2018-O0019, Class Deviation – Contractor Personnel Performing in Japan (Aug. 30, 2018), https://www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/policy/policyvault/USA002186-18-DPC.pdf [hereinafter 2017 SOFA Supplemental Agreement]. 28 See 2017 SOFA Supplemental Agreement, supra note 27; see also Ayako Mie, Japan and U.S. Sign Deal Clarifying Civilian Protection Under SOFA (Jan. 16, 2017), JAPAN TIMES, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/16/national/politics- diplomacy/japan-u-s-sign-deal-clarifying-civilian-protection-sofa/; Erik Slavin, US, Japan Finalize Agreement Narrowing SOFA for Contractors, STARS & STRIPES (Jan. 16, 8 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2 requirements were purported to promote greater transparency between the U.S. and Japanese governments, providing accurate statistics on the number of U.S. armed forces members and civilian components currently employed at U.S. military bases in Okinawa Prefecture and other parts of Japan.29 Finally, rape was created as a new category of crime statistic in Okinawa to provide more accurate reporting of the number of acts of sexual violence committed by U.S. servicemen in host communities. Previous reporting procedures included rapes with other minor crimes, such as assault and robbery, which led to an incomplete understanding of the potential risk the U.S. military presence poses to Okinawan women and children. This Article, the first study in American legal scholarship of the 2017 supplemental agreement to the U.S.-Japan Security Alliance and Status of Forces Agreement, analyzes the new limitations on the extraterritoriality provision for U.S. contractors as a starting point for redefining the bilateral alliance within the context of human security. This Article supports Japan’s expanded jurisdictional rights under the SOFA supplemental agreement as a legal and foreign policy tool compatible with feminist international relations scholars’ approach to host communities of U.S. troops and bases. Section II provides an interpretive account of the 2016 rape and murder of Rina Shimabukuro by a U.S. military civilian contractor within the context of the SOFA and Japan’s criminal justice system. The 2016 rape case contrasts with U.S. military authorities’ handling of the 1995 rape case. Section III incorporates a feminist international relations analytical framework to identify systemic casualties of Okinawan women as a result of broad interpretations of the SOFA extraterritoriality provision. Section IV explains the 2017 SOFA supplemental agreement to associate contextually the limitations to the extraterritoriality provision and new reporting requirements. This section presents the benefits to national security and human security by expanding Japan’s jurisdiction over crimes committed by U.S. base personnel

2017), https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/16/national/politics-diplomacy/japan- u-s-sign-deal-clarifying-civilian-protection-sofa/. 29 See Tyler J. Hill, Revision of the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA): Relinquishing U.S. Legal Authority in the Name of American Foreign Policy, 32 UCLA PAC. BASIN L.J. 105, 18 (2015)(citing crime statistics in situations where a member of the U.S. military committed an offense against a Japanese national, and the SOFA granted U.S. jurisdiction over the matter. Only half of crimes reported of U.S. civilian components of the U.S. military resulted in any sort of disciplinary action, based on reports between September 2006 and December 2010); Gwyn Kirk and Carolyn Bowen Francis, Redefining Security: Women Challenge U.S. Military Policy and Practice in East Asia, 15 BERKELEY WOMEN'S L.J. at 229 (2000); cf. Eric L. Robinson, Lost in Translation: U.S. Forces and Crime in Japan (Sep. 2015), https://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/47321/15Sep_Robinson_Eric.pdf?sequen ce=1&isAllowed=y (arguing that Japanese media disproportionately attributes crime to U.S. military and affiliated personnel in Okinawa, then finds that its local crimes rates are low even when compared to already low crime rates throughout Japan). 2020] Higa 9 involving local citizens. This Article concludes with the author’s reflection on broader implications the 2017 SOFA supplemental agreement will have for Okinawan women and suggests U.S. policy and military practices to improve human security for citizens of host communities in Okinawa. II. “THE SUITCASE MURDER”: 2016 RAPE AND MURDER OF RINA SHIMABUKURO The events leading to Okinawa’s infamous “Suitcase Murder” took place in late April when Rina Shimabukuro went on an evening stroll through her neighborhood. Unbeknownst to Shimabukuro, she would soon cross paths with a man who was driving around for hours searching for an Okinawan woman to fulfill his fantasy of abducting and raping a local woman. Shimabukuro, like many other Okinawan women in their early twenties, were just children when a twelve-year-old Okinawan schoolgirl was abducted in broad daylight and raped by U.S. servicemen in a field. This heinous act of military violence may have inspired the events that took place in Uruma City on April 28, 2016. On April 28, 2016, Rina Shimabukuro, a twenty-year-old office worker and local resident of Uruma,30 was kidnapped while she was out on a walk 31 by Kenneth Franklin Gadson. 32 Gadson, a former American Marine33 drove around for two or three hours looking for a potential rape

30 Uruma is a medium sized city located nearly 40 kilometers from the capital city of Naha. Uruma is the symbolic location associated with refugee camps for Okinawan survivors of the Battle of Okinawa and the initial site for the local Okinawan government during the U.S. occupation following World War II. See 沖縄県うるま市 (Uruma City, Okinawa Prefecture), http://www.city.uruma.lg.jp/ (last visited May 23, 2020). 31 Shimabukuro’s disappeared on April 28, 2016 after her boyfriend received a text message on the Line messaging mobile application around 8:00 p.m. on April 28, 2016 informing him that she was going for a walk. Her boyfriend reported her missing the following day on April 29, 2016. See Jonathan Soble, Abe Voice Outrage After Former U.S. Marine Is Arrested in Okinawa Killing (May 20, 2016), N.Y. TIMES, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/21/world/asia/okinawa-killing-marine.html; Michael E. Miller, Outrage in Japan as U.S. Marine Veteran Arrested in Connection with Death of Woman on Okinawa (May 20, 2016), WASH. POST, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/05/20/outrage-in-japan- as-american-arrested-in-connection-with-death-of-woman-on-okinawa/. 32 Gadson adopted his Okinawan wife’s last name “Shinzato,” and is referred by his Okinawan last name by most Japanese media sources, including The Japan Times, The Ryukyu Shimpo, and The Manichi. American outlets, including Stars and Stripes, use his American last name. 33 Gadson served in the United States Marine Corps from 2007 to 2014 in the 3rd Battalion, 12th Marines mail room. See Michael E. Miller, Outrage in Japan as U.S. Marine Veteran Arrested in Connection with Death of Woman on Okinawa (May 20, 2016), WASH. POST, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning- mix/wp/2016/05/20/outrage-in-japan-as-american-arrested-in-connection-with-death-of- woman-on-okinawa/?utm_term=.f3c7dac72963; Okinawa Suspect Allegedly Admits to 10 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2 victim to fulfill his fantasy of abducting and raping a local Okinawan woman.34 He recalled, “[w]hen she passed my car and I saw her more clearly, I heard the voice in my head tell me, ‘[i]t’s her’ and that she’s the one that will fulfill my fantasy.”35 Gadson hit Shimabukuro on the head with a bar, stabbed her in the neck with a knife so she would not resist, then forced Shimabukuro into his red SUV.36 Gadson planned to rape Shimabukuro, but inflicted grievous harm when she resisted, eventually killing her.37 He explained, “I intended to hit her with the stick and make her lose consciousness, then put her in the suitcase, take her to a hotel and then rape her.”38 Gadson said “the headlights of an oncoming car forced him to drag Shimabukuro back from the road, accidentally hitting her head. As [Shimabukuro] tried to speak, he choked her in a panic and went to fetch the suitcase.” 39 Gadson stabbed Shimabukuro multiple times to check whether she was really dead, recalling, “[w]hen I disposed of her, I thought she may have said something. I thought she may be alive, so I stabbed her with a knife to find out.”40 Shimabukuro died before he could finish the sexual assault after Gadson clubbed her over the head from behind, then strangled her with both of his hands and stabbed her multiple times in the neck while attempting to rape her.41

Rape of Woman Before Killing Her (May 21, 2016), JAPAN TIMES, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/05/21/national/crime-legal/okinawa-suspect- allegedly-admits-rape-woman-killing/. 34 See Keith Griffith, Ex-Marine Charged with Murdering a Japanese Woman, 20, Near an Okinawa Military Base ‘Had Voices in His Head and Fantasized About Raping Women for Years” (Feb. 13, 2017), DAILY MAIL, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4218826/Shinzato-says-fantasized-raping- women-years.html [hereinafter “Griffith”]. 35 Id. 36 See Former Okinawa U.S. Base Worker Accused of Killing Woman Set to Deny Murderous Intent (Jan. 28, 2017), THE JAPAN TIMES, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/28/national/crime-legal/former-okinawa-u-s- base-worker-accused-killing-woman-set-deny-murderous-intent/; Keith Griffith, Ex- Marine Charged With Murdering A Japanese Woman, 20, Near An Okinawa Military Base ‘Had Voices In His Head and Fantasized About Raping Women for Years” (Feb. 13, 2017), DAILY MAIL, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4218826/Shinzato- says-fantasized-raping-women-years.html (last visited May 23, 2020).

37 See GRIFFITH, supra note 34.

38 See GRIFFITH, supra note 34.

39 See GRIFFITH, supra note 34.

40 See GRIFFITH, supra note 34. 41 See Matthew M. Burke and Chiyomi Sumida, Defendant in Okinawa Slaying Seeks Change of Venue (Jul. 5, 2016), STARS AND STRIPES, https://www.stripes.com/defendant-in-okinawa-slaying-seeks-change-of-venue-1.417539; Ex-Marine accused of raping and murdering woman refuses to testify on first day of trial, 2020] Higa 11

Gadson forced Shimabukuro’s dead body into a suitcase, 42 then abandoned the suitcase in a wooded location in Onna Village’s Afuso district43 where it would not be found until nearly a month later.44 The Okinawan Prefectural Police found Shimabukuro’s body in a forest in her hometown of Uruma45 nearly three weeks after her disappearance on May 19, 2016. 46 Shimabukuro’s body was reduced to a near skeleton and unrecognizable to her family by the time it was discovered.47 A. Arrest and Prosecution of Kenneth Franklin Gadson Under the SOFA extraterritoriality provision,48 Gadson was eligible to remain in the custody of U.S. military authorities because of his status as denies intent to murder (Nov. 17, 2017), RYUKYU SHIMPO (T&CT and Sam Grieb, English trans.), http://english.ryukyushimpo.jp/2017/11/22/28070/. 42 See Michael E. Miller, Outrage in Japan as U.S. Marine Veteran Arrested in Connection with Death of Woman on Okinawa (May 20, 2016), WASH. POST, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/05/20/outrage-in-japan- as-american-arrested-in-connection-with-death-of-woman-on-okinawa/ [hereinafter Miller]. 43 Onna Village is located approximately 10 kilometers from Uruma, where Shimabukuro lived.

44 See GRIFFITH, supra note 34. 45 See Ex-U.S. Marine Charged with Rape, Murder of Okinawa Woman (Jun. 30, 2016), ALJAZEERA, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/marine-charged-rape- murder-okinawa-woman-160630080538403.html; Cf. Keith Griffith, Ex-Marine Charged With Murdering A Japanese Woman, 20, Near An Okinawa Military Base ‘Had Voices In His Head and Fantasized About Raping Women for Years” (Feb. 13, 2017), DAILY MAIL, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4218826/Shinzato-says-fantasized-raping- women-years.html (reporting that Shimabukuro’s body was found in the Afuso District of Onna Village, located ten kilometers away from Uruma). 46 See Okinawa Suspect Allegedly Admits to Rape of Woman Before Killing Her (May 21, 2016), JAPAN TIMES, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/05/21/national/crime-legal/okinawa-suspect- allegedly-admits-rape-woman-killing/; see also Michael E. Miller, Outrage in Japan as U.S. Marine Veteran Arrested in Connection with Death of Woman on Okinawa (May 20, 2016), WASH. POST, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning- mix/wp/2016/05/20/outrage-in-japan-as-american-arrested-in-connection-with-death-of- woman-on-okinawa/. 47 See Okinawa Suspect Allegedly Admits to Rape of Woman Before Killing Her (May 21, 2016), JAPAN TIMES, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/05/21/national/crime-legal/okinawa-suspect- allegedly-admits-rape-woman-killing/. 48 The SOFA extraterritoriality provision refers to Art. XVII 5(c) of Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security Between the United States and Japan, 1960, “[t]he custody of an accused member of the United States armed forces or the civilian component over whom Japan is to exercise jurisdiction shall, if he is in the hands of the United States, remain with the United States until he is charged by Japan.” U.S.-Japan, Jan. 19, 1960, 11 U.S.T. 1652 at 30. 12 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2 a veteran employed as a military contractor working on base.49 Gadson continued his daily routine of working as an IT services contractor50 at Kadena Air Base and returning home to his newborn child and his wife, a local Okinawan woman with whom he lived with in Yonabaru.51 Gadson expected to be identified as a suspect within a few days, but stopped worrying about Shimabukuro when the police did not come. 52 Gadson admitted that he did not fear being caught for murdering Shimabukuro because of the low reporting rate of sex crimes in Japan.53 He did not make any attempt to notify Okinawan law enforcement, despite daily coverage of Shimabukuro’s disappearance on the local news stations following her reported disappearance.54 The Okinawa Prefectural Police were authorized to arrest Gadson on suspicion on Shimabukuro’s disappearance and death because these acts allegedly occurred off-base and while Gadson was off-duty from his job as a U.S. military contractor. Gadson was arrested on suspicion of illegally disposing of a body55 by the Okinawan Prefectural Police on May 19, 2016 after his car was spotted on security-camera footage taken near the area where Shimabukuro was believed to have disappeared and Shimabukuro’s DNA was found in Gadson’s vehicle.56 Gadson’s SUV was among 300 vehicles captured in security camera footage from the area where the victim

49 Gadson is a retired Marine working at Kadena Air Base, located approximately 16 kilometers from Uruma City.

50 See Another Heinous Crime in Okinawa (May 23, 2017), JAPAN TIMES, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2016/05/23/editorials/another-heinous-crime- okinawa/ ("[Gadson was] no longer a member of the U.S. military and committed the alleged crime while he was off duty. But given the prevalence of crimes committed by people with ties to U.S. forces in Okinawa, it would not be unreasonable if local residents link this case to the heavy U.S. military presence in the nation’s southernmost prefecture").

51 See GRIFFITH, supra note 34.

52 See GRIFFITH, supra note 34.

53 See GRIFFITH, supra note 34. 54 See Jonathan Soble, Abe Voice Outrage After Former U.S. Marine Is Arrested in Okinawa Killing (May 20, 2016), N.Y. TIMES, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/21/world/asia/okinawa-killing-marine.html; Michael E. Miller, Outrage in Japan as U.S. Marine Veteran Arrested in Connection with Death of Woman on Okinawa (May 20, 2016), WASH. POST, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/05/20/outrage-in-japan- as-american-arrested-in-connection-with-death-of-woman-on-okinawa/.

55 KEIJI SOSHŌHŌ (CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE) [KEISOHŌ] [C. CRIM. PRO.] art. 219 (Japan)(“ A person who commits a crime prescribed under the preceding two Articles and thereby causes the death or injury of another, shall be dealt with by the punishment prescribed for either the crimes of injury or the preceding Articles, whichever is greater”) [hereinafter KEISOHŌ]. 56 Id. 2020] Higa 13 was last seen.57 The police confirmed Gadson’s presence at the convenience store where Shimabukuro disappeared by reviewing footage of him buying salt at the convenience store and sprinkling it over his car.58 Police found further evidence of Gadson’s connection to the victim online when they found a photo from Shimabukuro’s Facebook page on Gadson’s phone.59 Gadson was arrested, detained, and interrogated by the Okinawa Prefectural Police through Japan’s pre-charge detention practices.60 While in police custody, Gadson confessed to the crime of disposing of the body on May 21, 2016.61 Gadson’s attorney Takeshi Takaesu later appealed the admissibility of Gadson’s confession on the grounds of incapacity because he attempted suicide by sleeping pill overdose twice before his arrest.62

57 See Matthew M. Burke and Chiyomi Sumida, Defendant in Okinawa Slaying Seeks Change of Venue (Jul. 5, 2016), STARS AND STRIPES, https://www.stripes.com/defendant-in-okinawa-slaying-seeks-change-of-venue-1.417539 [hereinafter Burke & Sumida]. 58 See Okinawa Suspect Allegedly Admits to Rape of Woman Before Killing Her (May 21, 2016), JAPAN TIMES, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/05/21/national/crime-legal/okinawa-suspect- allegedly-admits-rape-woman-killing/.

59 See GRIFFITH, supra note 34. 60 The Japanese criminal justice system authorizes the pre-charge detention and interrogation of criminal suspects. These practices widely differ from American criminal procedure and has drawn sharp criticism for infringing upon due process rights of criminal suspects. Japan’s “hostage justice system” refers to prosecutorial practices in which criminal suspects are held for long periods in harsh conditions to coerce a confession. Criminal suspects may be held for 23 days in solitary confinement and subject to practices to extract confessions, whereas suspects are detained only for 24 or 48 hours in other democratic countries. Japanese prosecutors’ conviction rate is often quoted as more than 99% of cases that go to trial result in a conviction. A suspect who admits to the crime is released from imprisonment, but the prosecutor’s office will strongly oppose release until a confession is made if a person refuses to admit to a crime. See DAVID T. JOHNSON, THE JAPANESE WAY OF JUSTICE: PROSECUTING CRIME IN JAPAN (2002); SETSUO MIYAZAWA, POLICING IN JAPAN: A STUDY ON MAKING CRIME (Frank G. Bennett, Jr. & John O. Haley, trans., 1992); JOHN O. HALEY, AUTHORITY WITHOUT POWER: LAW AND THE JAPANESE PARADOX 121-38 (1991); see also Rupert Wingfield- Hayes, Carlos Ghosn and Japan’s “Hostage Justice” System, BBC NEWS, December 31, 2019, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47113189 (last visited May 23, 2020) ("Under Japanese law, the prosecutor's office has the exclusive right to indict. They also have the right to drop charges. On top of that, in most cases, the courts follow the prosecutor's decisions. [I]f you don't confess, you will be held longer and more serious charges will probably be laid against you. If prosecutors do file charges, your chances of being found guilty stand at 99%."); Danielle Demetriou, “Hostage Justice”: How Japan Secures Confessions and Convictions, ALJAZEERA, January 28, 2019, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/justice-japan-secures-confessions-convictions- 190125072905430.html (last visited May 23, 2020).

61 See GRIFFITH, supra note 34. 62 Matthew M. Burke and Chiyomi Sumida, Defense Attorney Says Okinawa Confession Made in a Daze, Stars & Stripes (May 20, 2016), 14 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2

Japanese prosecutors subsequently charged Gadson of rape and murder of Shimabukuro.63 On June 9, 2016, Gadson was indicted at Naha District Court on two counts; the first account for murder and the abandonment of the victim’s body,64 and the second for the rape resulting in death65 on June 30, 2016.66 B. Gadson’s Petition for a Trial in Tokyo to Escape Okinawan Lay Judges’ “Victim’s Mindset” Okinawan politicians, women’s groups, and citizens were outraged by the news that a former U.S. serviceman was involved with Shimabukuro’s disappearance and had not come forth as her parents anguished over her whereabouts for nearly a month.67 Dubbed “the Suitcase https://www.stripes.com/news/defense-attorney-says-okinawa-confession-made-in-a- daze-1.410588 (“[He] attempted suicide twice — on May 17 and May 18 — using sleeping pills,” attorney Toshimitsu Takaesu said. “He gave the statement the very next day. He was still in a daze. I do not accept a statement taken under such conditions. Right now it is the statement alone with no supporting evidence”) 63 See Ex-U.S. Marine Charged with Rape, Murder of Okinawa Woman (Jun. 30, 2016), ALJAZEERA, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/marine-charged-rape- murder-okinawa-woman-160630080538403.html.

64 KEIJI SOSHŌHŌ (CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE) [KEISOHŌ] [C. CRIM. PRO.] art. 199 (Japan) (“A person who kills another shall be punished by the death penalty or imprisonment for life or for a definite term of not less than 5 years”).

65 KEIJI SOSHŌHŌ (CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE) [KEISOHŌ] [C. CRIM. PRO.] arts. 177, 181 para. 2 (Japan)(Gadson was charged with rape resulting in death under Japan’s Code of Criminal Procedure Article 181(2), “A person who commits a crime prescribed under Article 177, paragraph (2) of Article 178 or an attempt of the above- mentioned crimes and thereby causes the death or injury of another shall be punished by imprisonment with work for life or for a definite term of not less than 5 years.” Rape is defined under Article 177 as “[a] person who, through assault or intimidation, forcibly commits sexual intercourse with a female of not less than thirteen years of age commits the crime of rape and shall be punished by imprisonment with work for a definite term of not less than 3 years. The same shall apply to a person who commits sexual intercourse with a female under thirteen years of age”). 66 See Statement by Kenneth Franklin Shinzato issued by Defense Attorney Takeshi Takaesu signed July 2, 2017; see also Former Okinawa U.S. Base Worker Accused of Killing Woman Set to Deny Murderous Intent (Jan. 28, 2017), JAPAN TIMES, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/28/national/crime-legal/former-okinawa-u-s- base-worker-accused-killing-woman-set-deny-murderous-intent/.

67 See SUZUYO, supra note 11; see also Michael E. Miller, Outrage in Japan as U.S. Marine Veteran Arrested in Connection with Death of Woman on Okinawa (May 20, 2016), WASH. POST, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning- mix/wp/2016/05/20/outrage-in-japan-as-american-arrested-in-connection-with-death-of- woman-on-okinawa/; Jake Adelstein and Louis Krauss, The Suitcase Murder Tearing the U.S. and Japan Apart (Jun. 8, 2016), DAILY BEAST, https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/06/08/the-suitcase-murder-tearing-the-u-s- and-japan-apart; Matthew M. Burke, Despite Low Crime Rate, U.S. Military Faces No- Win Situation On Okinawa (Mar. 24, 2016), STARS AND STRIPES, 2020] Higa 15

Murderer,”68 Okinawan women’s groups, government officials, and human rights activists compared Shimabukuro’s murder to the 1995 rape of a twelve-year-old school girl by three U.S. servicemen.69 Widespread protests throughout Okinawa Prefecture denouncing Shimabukuro’s murder followed, including a demonstration involving 65,000 people wearing black armbands to symbolize the Okinawan solidarity movement.70 Okinawan women’s groups characterized Shimabukuro’s murder as the result of the SOFA’s unequal protection of U.S. troops who commit heinous crimes against local women. 71 Grassroots organizations, including sixteen women’s groups, held a press conference and presented a written demand to Japanese and U.S. governments to close the U.S. bases and hold Gadson accountable for his crime.72 Shimabukuro’s murder became a high-profile incident and prompted formal visits by Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, Okinawa Prefectural Governor Takeshi Onaga, and other Japanese government officials who attended her funeral on May 21, 2016.73 Onaga told reporters the crime had left him speechless.74 Onaga made anti-base https://www.stripes.com/news/despite-low-crime-rate-us-military-faces-no-win-situation- on-okinawa-1.411132. 68 See The Suitcase Murder Tearing the U.S. and Japan Apart (Jun. 8, 2016), DAILY BEAST, https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/06/08/the-suitcase-murder- tearing-the-u-s-and-japan-apart [hereinafter Suitcase Murder].

69 See SUZUYO, supra note 11. 70 See Arata Yamamoto, U.S. Contractor Kenneth Shinzato Charged in Okinawa Murder (Jun. 30, 2016), NBC News, http://www.nbcnews.com/news/military/u-s- contractor-kenneth-shinzato-charged-okinawa-murder-n601581 [hereinafter Yamamoto].

71 See SUZUYO, supra note 11 (stating that Shimabukuro's murder took place barely six weeks after a U.S. sailor assigned to Camp Schwab was arrested for the rape of a Japanese woman in a Naha hotel); Tyler J. Hill, Revision of the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA): Relinquishing U.S. Legal Authority in the Name of American Foreign Policy, 32 UCLA PAC. BASIN L.J. 105, 107-08 (2015)(citing that between September 2006 and December 2010, a reported 62 civilian components of the U.S. military committed crimes against Japanese nationals, yet only roughly half received any sort of discipline). 72 See Women Activists Join Struggle for Peace in Okinawa (Jul. 11, 2017), SUMMIT MAG., http://www.summitzine.com/posts/women-activists-join-struggle-for- peace-in-okinawa/; see generally Keith Griffith, Ex-Marine Charged With Murdering A Japanese Woman, 20, Near An Okinawa Military Base ‘Had Voices In His Head and Fantasized About Raping Women for Years” (Feb. 13, 2017), DAILY MAIL, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4218826/Shinzato-says-fantasized-raping- women-years.html. 73 See Okinawa Suspect Allegedly Admits to Rape of Woman Before Killing Her (May 21, 2016), JAPAN TIMES, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/05/21/national/crime-legal/okinawa-suspect- allegedly-admits-rape-woman-killing/.

74 See SOBLE, supra note 54. 16 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2 remarks to local media,75 alleging that “this incident has occurred precisely because the [U.S. military] base is there[,]”76 and that the “…Japanese government needs to understand that the public anger has reached its limit. They cannot allow any further victimization of the Okinawans due to the burden of having these military bases.”77 The victim’s parents confronted Gadson during trial and called for the death penalty as retribution for the murder of their daughter.78 Gadson responded to public pressure for the death penalty through a public statement79 requesting that his trial be moved to Tōkyō from Naha, alleging that he could not get a fair trial in Okinawa Prefecture due to extensive media coverage.80 Gadson stated: The Okinawa prefectural and municipal governments, assemblies, women's organization, and political parties have protested and done large demonstrations against my case, so when the trial starts, the Okinawan people will surround the court, attend the hearings, and place pressure on the jurors. After my arrest, I heard many people shouting outside the Uruma Police Office shouting my name using a loudspeaker. I did not know what they were saying, but can hear them yelling out my name. The jailor

75 See GRIFFITH, supra note 34 (characterizing Governor Onaga's image as a staunchly anti-U.S. base governor who was widely supported in the June 6, 2016 Prefectural Assembly elections by fellow anti-base political allies).

76 See SOBLE, supra note 54.

77 See YAMAMOTO, supra note 70. 78 See Hana Kusumoto, Gadson ‘Should Not Be Allowed to Live,’ Victim’s Parents Say as Trial Continues (Nov. 16, 2017), STARS AND STRIPES, https://www.stripes.com/news/gadson-should-not-be-allowed-to-live-victim-s-parents- say-as-trial-continues-1.498305 [hereinafter Kusumoto]. 79 See Statement by Kenneth Franklin Shinzato issued by Defense Attorney Takeshi Takaesu signed July 2, 2017; see also Former Okinawa U.S. Base Worker Accused of Killing Woman Set to Deny Murderous Intent (Jan. 28, 2017), JAPAN TIMES, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/28/national/crime-legal/former-okinawa-u-s- base-worker-accused-killing-woman-set-deny-murderous-intent/. 80 See Statement by Kenneth Franklin Shinzato issued by Defense Attorney Takeshi Takaesu signed July 2, 2017; see also Former Okinawa U.S. Base Worker Accused of Killing Woman Set to Deny Murderous Intent (Jan. 28, 2017), JAPAN TIMES, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/28/national/crime-legal/former-okinawa-u-s- base-worker-accused-killing-woman-set-deny-murderous-intent/; see also Matthew M. Burke and Chiyomi Sumida, Defendant in Okinawa Slaying Seeks Change of Venue (Jul. 5, 2016), STARS AND STRIPES, https://www.stripes.com/defendant-in-okinawa-slaying- seeks-change-of-venue-1.417539; Shinzato’s Murder Trial Must be Held in Okinawa: Supreme Court (Aug. 4, 2016), JAPAN TIMES, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/08/04/national/crime-legal/japans-supreme- court-rules-ex-marines-murder-trial-must-held-okinawa/. 2020] Higa 17

told me that these people are yelling for me to stop keeping my silence and tell the truth to the police. I believe that the jurors not only have concluded me as guilty through the polices' one-sided story, but also will not believe what I say despite it being the truth. They believe that the case is cold- blooded and heinous and will decide to give me the death sentence. I cannot rely on the Naha District Court to give me a fair trial.81 Gadson petitioned for a fair trial away from Okinawa,82 arguing that lay judges chosen from Okinawa would be unable to escape the “victim’s mindset” from constant media coverage of Shimabukuro’s disappearance and murder. 83 Gadson’s attorney argued that lay judges selected from Shimabukuro’s peers would be biased against Gadson with thoughts that “the victim could have been me.” 84 Furthermore, Gadson alleged the “victim’s mindset” would not be limited to women, stating that “[m]en and women alike share the mourning feeling with the victim’s parents and feel a close kinship with the victim’s family. This circumstance applies to every and all of the citizen judge candidates that could be called upon to participate in the criminal trial.”85 Gadson justified his request to change the

81 See Statement by Kenneth Franklin Shinzato issued by Defense Attorney Takeshi Takaesu signed July 2, 2017; see also Former Okinawa U.S. Base Worker Accused of Killing Woman Set to Deny Murderous Intent (Jan. 28, 2017), JAPAN TIMES, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/28/national/crime-legal/former-okinawa-u-s- base-worker-accused-killing-woman-set-deny-murderous-intent/.

82 See SUZUYO, supra note 11; see also Michael E. Miller, Outrage in Japan as U.S. Marine Veteran Arrested in Connection with Death of Woman on Okinawa (May 20, 2016), WASH. POST, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning- mix/wp/2016/05/20/outrage-in-japan-as-american-arrested-in-connection-with-death-of- woman-on-okinawa/. 83 See Matthew M. Burke and Chiyomi Sumida, Defendant in Okinawa Slaying Seeks Change of Venue (Jul. 5, 2016), STARS AND STRIPES, https://www.stripes.com/defendant-in-okinawa-slaying-seeks-change-of-venue-1.417539; Shinzato’s Murder Trial Must be Held in Okinawa: Supreme Court (Aug. 4, 2016), JAPAN TIMES, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/08/04/national/crime-legal/japans- supreme-court-rules-ex-marines-murder-trial-must-held-okinawa/. 84 See Matthew M. Burke and Chiyomi Sumida, Defendant in Okinawa Slaying Seeks Change of Venue (Jul. 5, 2016), STARS AND STRIPES, https://www.stripes.com/defendant-in-okinawa-slaying-seeks-change-of-venue-1.417539; Shinzato’s Murder Trial Must be Held in Okinawa: Supreme Court (Aug. 4, 2016), JAPAN TIMES, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/08/04/national/crime-legal/japans- supreme-court-rules-ex-marines-murder-trial-must-held-okinawa/. 85 See Statement by Kenneth Franklin Shinzato issued by Defense Attorney Takeshi Takaesu signed July 2, 2017; Matthew M. Burke and Chiyomi Sumida, Defendant in Okinawa Slaying Seeks Change of Venue (Jul. 5, 2016), STARS AND STRIPES, https://www.stripes.com/defendant-in-okinawa-slaying-seeks-change-of-venue- 1.417539. 18 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2 venue for his trial from the Naha District Court based in Okinawa Prefecture to the Tōkyō District Court, 86 based on his assumption that the six Okinawan citizens serving as lay judges87 in his case would be unable to form an unbiased opinion in his trial due to the presence of evidence in this case reported by media.88 Justice Yoshinobu Onuki ultimately denied Gadson’s petition to change the trial venue.89 In a concurrent opinion, Justice Katsumi Chiba said, “district court judges could be fully counted on to preside over a fair trial,” notwithstanding, “whatever the particular circumstances in Okinawa and the various thoughts of local residents.”90 Gadson’s defense attorney, Toshimitsu Takaesu, said during a pretrial conference held on March 10, 2017 that his client would deny murderous intent at trial and admit to charges of rape resulting in death and to abandoning the victim’s body, 91 and justified Gadson’s actions by claiming that Gadson was under the influence of narcotics following a suicide attempt.92

86 Tokyo District Court is located in the capital city of Japan on the main island of Honshu. Gadson shared the view held by some news reporters and Japanese scholars that mainland Japanese are indifferent toward issues concerning U.S. military base presence in Okinawa Prefecture. 87 For more information on Japan’s lay judges, see Hiroshi Fukurai, People's Panels vs. Imperial Hegemony: Japan's Twin Lay Justice Systems and the Future of American Military Bases in Japan, 12 ASIAN-PACIFIC L. & POL'Y J. 95 (2010). 88 See Statement by Kenneth Franklin Shinzato issued by Defense Attorney Takeshi Takaesu signed July 2, 2017; Matthew M. Burke and Chiyomi Sumida, Defendant in Okinawa Slaying Seeks Change of Venue (Jul. 5, 2016), STARS AND STRIPES, https://www.stripes.com/defendant-in-okinawa-slaying-seeks-change-of-venue- 1.417539. 89 See Shinzato’s Murder Trial Must be Held in Okinawa: Supreme Court (Aug. 4, 2016), JAPAN TIMES, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/08/04/national/crime- legal/japans-supreme-court-rules-ex-marines-murder-trial-must-held-okinawa/ (reporting that the Second Petty Bench of the top court judged that fair trials based on the law and evidence were fully guaranteed under the system, concluding that there was no reason to change the court). 90 See Shinzato’s Murder Trial Must be Held in Okinawa: Supreme Court (Aug. 4, 2016), JAPAN TIMES, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/08/04/national/crime- legal/japans-supreme-court-rules-ex-marines-murder-trial-must-held-okinawa/ (reporting concurring justice opinions in the trial concerning Gadson’s petition for change of venue). 91 See Former Okinawa U.S. Base Worker Accused of Killing Woman Set to Deny Murderous Intent (Jan. 28, 2017), JAPAN TIMES, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/28/national/crime-legal/former-okinawa-u-s- base-worker-accused-killing-woman-set-deny-murderous-intent/.

92 See BURKE & SUMIDA, supra note 94; MILLER, supra note 62 (quoting Gadson’s defense attorney’s reports that Gadson attempted suicide twice – on May 17 and May 18, 2016 – using sleeping pills. These dates were nearly a month after 2020] Higa 19

Gadson’s trial commenced on November 16, 2017 under the lay judge system with three professional judges and six lay judges.93 Takaesu believed Gadson could potentially face the death penalty if convicted, although it is rarely imposed in Japan for single homicides.94 Naha District Public Prosecutor’s Office requested lifetime imprisonment for Gadson for the alleged rape, murder, and bodily disposal of Rina Shimabukuro. Upon receiving news of Shimabukuro’s murder, Gadson’s mother responded to reporters that her son would not commit such a heinous act.95 C. Gadson’s Confessions Reveal Detachment from the Host Community and a Desire to Commit Sexual Violence Against Okinawan Women Despite spending two years living among local Okinawan people with his wife’s family in Yonabaru,96 Gadson remain detached from the host community to the point where he felt no remorse for killing Shimabukuro.97 Gadson remained silent even as people searched for nearly a month following her reported disappearance. Although he initially anticipated the police to arrest him within a week of abducting the victim. Gadson admitted to having fantasies of kidnapping, restraining and raping women for years.98

Shimabukuro’s disappearance, but prior to his arrest by Okinawan investigative authorities). 93 See Matthew M. Burke, Murder Trial Looms for Base Worker Charged in Okinawan Woman’s Death (Nov. 15, 2017), STARS AND STRIPES, https://www.stripes.com/news/murder-trial-looms-for-base-worker-charged-in-okinawan- woman-s-death-1.497916; see also Hana Kusumoto, Gadson Pleads Not Guilty to Okinawan Woman’s Murder, But Admits Other Charges (Nov. 16, 2017), STARS AND STRIPES, https://www.stripes.com/news/gadson-pleads-not-guilty-to-okinawan-woman-s- murder-but-admits-other-charges-1.498135; Matthew M. Burke and Chiyomi Sumida, Defendant in Okinawa Slaying Seeks Change of Venue (Jul. 5, 2016), STARS AND STRIPES, https://www.stripes.com/defendant-in-okinawa-slaying-seeks-change-of-venue- 1.417539.

94 See BURKE & SUMIDA, supra note 57. 95 See Okinawa Suspect Allegedly Admits to Rape of Woman Before Killing Her (May 21, 2016), JAPAN TIMES, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/05/21/national/crime-legal/okinawa-suspect- allegedly-admits-rape-woman-killing/ (reporting that Mother Shirley Gadson living in New York lost contact with son after he left the military two years ago); MILLER, supra note 42 (reporting that Gadson’s mother said her son had a hard life, dropping out of school at the University of Maryland University College and living in a group home before joining the Marines). 96 Yonabaru is located in the southern part of Okinawa’s main island. It is located 35 kilometers from Uruma, where Shimabukuro lived.

97 See GRIFFITH, supra note 34.

98 See GRIFFITH, supra note 34; see also BURKE & SUMIDA, supra note 94; Matthew M. Burke, Despite Low Crime Rate, U.S. Military Faces No-Win Situation on Okinawa (Mar. 24, 2016), STARS AND STRIPES, https://www.stripes.com/news/despite- low-crime-rate-us-military-faces-no-win-situation-on-okinawa-1.411132. 20 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2

He spoke of persistent suicidal fantasies and hearing voices since age eight.99 Gadson claimed he told Marine recruiters that he wanted to join the military primarily because he wanted to kill people.100 Gadson’s statements regarding how he chose his rape and murder victim share characteristics with the 1995 rape of a twelve-year-old schoolgirl who was chosen by a U.S. serviceman and his two comrades for “one last joy ride” before leaving his post in Okinawa Prefecture.101 When asked about choosing Shimabukuro as his victim, Gadson said “I saw a red, full moon and I just knew that that was a sign.”102 The Okinawa Prefectural Police recovered evidence from Gadson’s phone, including a Facebook photo of Shimabukuro, proving that he stalked Shimabukuro prior to the kidnapping.103 Unlike the 1995 rape case, 104 Gadson was promptly arrested by Okinawan investigative authorities and prosecuted in a Japanese court with lay judges representing the interests of Okinawan citizens. Gadson’s trial was widely publicized by Japanese media outlets, which provided a sense of transparency as the case was held in Naha District Court, likely would not have received the same national attention had it been rather than being transferred to the Tōkyō District Court. where it most likely would not have received the same national attention. Gadson’s trial became a story of interest to the U.S. military community, in addition to Okinawan citizens with widespread coverage by Stars and Stripes, The Japan Times, Ryukyu Shimpo, and even major international outlets such as BBC. As of December 2017, Gadson’s trial, verdict, and subsequent decision to appeal 105 was consistently reported as a national issue in Japan and a concern to international audiences.

99 See GRIFFITH, supra note 34.

100 See GRIFFITH, supra note 34.

101 See OKINAWA: THE AFTERBURN; CHALMERS JOHNSON, OKINAWA: THE POLITICAL AND MILITARY SETTING, IN OKINAWA: COLD WAR ISLAND 116 (Chalmers Johnson, ed., Japan Policy Research Institute, 1999).

102 See GRIFFITH, supra note 34.

103 See GRIFFITH, supra note 34. 104 See Takazato Suzuyo, Okinawan Women Demand U.S. Forces Out After Another Rape and Murder: Suspect an ex-Marine and U.S. Military Employee (Jun. 1, 2016), 14 THE ASIA-PACIFIC J. (2016); Gwyn Kirk and Carolyn Bowen Francis, Redefining Security: Women Challenge U.S. Military Policy and Practice in East Asia, 15 BERKELEY WOMEN'S L.J. 229, 254 (2000). 105 See Ex-U.S. Base Worker Appeals Life Sentence for Killing Okinawa Woman, JAPAN TIMES (Dec. 12, 2017) https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/12/12/national/crime-legal/ex-u-s-base-worker- appeals-life-sentence-killing-okinawa-woman/ (reporting that Gadson appealed a court ruling sentencing him to life in prison for the murder of Rina Shimabukuro while attempting to rape her). 2020] Higa 21

The Naha District Court convicted Gadson of the rape and murder of Shimabukuro and issued a life sentence with hard labor.106 A panel of three judges and six lay jurors issued a guilty verdict for two counts: 1) rape resulting in death; and, 2) murder involving the illegal disposal of the victim’s body. 107 Gadson faced a life sentence with hard labor 108 at Yokosuka Prison in Kurihama.109 Although Gadson contested both charges on the grounds that he lacked the intent to kill Shimabukuro when he attacked her, the lay judge panel concluded that his attempts to subdue the victim by coking her and stabbing her in the neck me the intent requirement for the rape and murder charges. 110 Gadson appealed the trial court’s decision within the 14-day appeal period, which was later upheld by the Fukuoka High Court Naha Branch. Gadson was entitled to a final appeal, but ultimately decided not to further appeal after consulting his attorney.111 For the Okinawan citizens seeking retribution for Shimabukuro’s rape and murder, Gadson’s conviction by a lay judge panel embodies judgment issued based on views of the Okinawan people, rather solely by a trial judge. Furthermore, Gadson faces a life sentence with hard labor in Japan’s most notorious prisons112 in segregation with convicted U.S. servicemembers.113

106 Matthew M. Burke & Hana Kusumoto, Base Worker Sentenced to Life with Hard Labor for Slaying of Okinawan Woman, Stars and Stripes (Dec. 1, 2017), https://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/base-worker-sentenced-to-life-with-hard-labor-for- slaying-of-okinawan-woman-1.500314 [hereinafter Gadson Convicted]. 107 See footnotes 64 and 65 for further discussion on the charges brought by the Japanese prosecutors. 108 A life sentence (無期懲役, muki chōeki) with work is the second most severe capital punishment available under the Japanese Code of Criminal Procedure, next to the death penalty. KEIJI SOSHŌHŌ (CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE) [KEISOHŌ] [C. CRIM. PRO.] art. 12 para. 1 (Japan) (“Imprisonment with work shall be either for life or with a definite term, and the definite term of imprisonment with work shall be not less than one month but not more than 20 years”). 109 See Gadson Convicted supra note 106. 110 See Gadson Convicted supra note 106. 111 Sam Grieb, tans., Ex-U.S. Military Base Worker Convicted of Rape and Murder of Woman in Okinawa Will Not Appeal Life Sentence, Officially Ending Legal Proceedings, RYUKYU SHIMPO (Oct. 5, 2018), http://english.ryukyushimpo.jp/2018/10/10/29372/. 112 Yokosuka Prison is referred to as “the Fuchu hellhole” compared to a “World War II Nazi prison camp … [subjecting prisoners to] a life of slave labor.” Prisoners serve sentences with hard labor by “working long hours in spaces with no heat or air conditioning while being fed barely enough fish and soup to stay alive.” See Allison Batdorff and Hana Kusumoto, Conditions Vary Widely for U.S. Prisoners in Japan, STARS AND STRIPES (Apr. 17, 2007), https://www.stripes.com/news/conditions-vary- widely-for-u-s-prisoners-in-japan-1.62878 [hereinafter Fuchu hell hole]. 113 See Fuchu hell hole supra note 112 (In 2007, 17 U.S. servicemembers were incarcerated in Yokosuka Prison in segregation from the prison’s 272 other inmates). 22 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2

D. Conflicting Priorities of Bilateral U.S.-Japan Security Alliance and Preserving Human Security for Okinawan Women Rina Shimabukuro’s murder became a national concern for both the U.S. and Japanese central governments, leading to apology tours by then- President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Shinzō Abe. Shimabukuro’s murder overshadowed Obama’s historic visit to Hiroshima in the midst of American diplomatic efforts to deepen the postwar alliance by paying respects to the lives lost during World War II.114 Obama expressed regret over the incident and vowed to enact measures to prevent crime by Americans on Japanese soil.115 Obama expressed “sincere condolences and deepest regrets,” promising to “cooperate fully with the investigation to ensure that justice [was] done under the Japanese legal system.” 116 Shimabukuro’s murder took place within two months of a sexual assault of a local tourist by a U.S. Marine,117 which prompted the head of the U.S. Marines in Okinawa to “promise to tighten discipline among U.S. forces members and to prevent the recurrence of a similar crime.”118

114 Prime Minister Abe reciprocated President Obama’s visit to Hiroshima by visiting the Pearl Harbor to offer condolences for the victims of Japan’s attack on the 75th anniversary of the bombing. See President Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s Historic Visit to Pearl Harbor, WHITE HOUSE (Dec. 29, 2016), https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/featured-videos/video/2016/12/29/president- obama-and-japanese-prime-minister-abes-historic-visit; see also Dower supra note 4. 115 See David Nakamura & Anna Fifield, Okinawa Murder Dominates Talks between Obama and Abe, WASHINGTON POST (May 25, 2016), https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/okinawa-murder-dominates-talks- between-obama-and-abe/2016/05/25/14ca6488-227a-11e6-b944- 52f7b1793dae_story.html; Rick Gladstone, Okinawa Murder Case Tests U.S. Japan ties Before Obama Visit, N.Y. TIMES (May 26, 2016), https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/27/world/asia/japan-okinawa-murder-obama- visit.html; Justin McCurry, Obama Expresses Regret Over Alleged Murder by US Base Worker in Japan, GUARDIAN (May 25, 2016), https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/25/barack-obama-murder-japan-military- base-shinzo-abe. 116 See Arata Yamamoto, U.S. Contractor Kenneth Shinzato Charged in Okinawa Murder (Jun. 30, 2016), NBC NEWS, http://www.nbcnews.com/news/military/u- s-contractor-kenneth-shinzato-charged-okinawa-murder-n601581; Ex-U.S. Marine Charged with Rape, Murder of Okinawa Woman (Jun. 30, 2016), ALJAZEERA, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/marine-charged-rape-murder-okinawa-woman- 160630080538403.html. 117 Justin Castellanos, a U.S. serviceman based at the U.S. Navy’s Camp Schwab, was arrested by Okinawa local police for allegedly raping a woman at a hotel in Naha. See Yoshikazu Tsuno, Thousands Protest Alleged Rape by US Marine in Japan's Okinawa (Mar. 23, 2016), RT, https://www.rt.com/news/336822-protest-okinawa- alleged-rape/.

118 See Another Heinous Crime in Okinawa (May 23, 2017), JAPAN TIMES, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2016/05/23/editorials/another-heinous-crime- okinawa/ ("[The] latest crime followed a sexual assault on a woman tourist by a U.S. 2020] Higa 23

Prime Minister Abe pressured President Obama seeking greater accountability for its military personnel stationed in Okinawa to deter future crimes against Okinawan host communities. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters “I am extremely upset. I have no words. I demand that the United States take strict measures to prevent something like this from happening again.”119 Abe made a formal complaint with President Obama over the incident when the President visited for G7 summit in May 2016.120 Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida called the incident “an extremely cruel and atrocious crime.”121 Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani lodged a protest with the commander of U.S. military forces in Okinawa over Gadson’s arrest, “demand[ing] that the U.S. military in Okinawa enhance discipline and take measures to prevent such incidents from recurring.” 122 Shortly thereafter, the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly approved a resolution demanding the U.S. Marines leave Okinawa.123 Despite unanimous condemnation of the incident, U.S. military officials responded with symbolic gestures to Prime Minister Abe’s call for measures preventing these type of incidents and President Obama’s promise for full cooperation. 124 U.S. military and diplomatic leaders—U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and Lt. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson, Marine Forces Japan Commander—issued formal apologies,125 accompanied with stricter curfew and temporary restrictions on alcohol consumption for a 30-

sailor in March in a hotel in Naha and the subsequent apology by Lt. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson, the commander of the III Marine Expeditionary Force and head of U.S. Marines in Okinawa, and his promise to tighten discipline among U.S. forces members and to prevent the recurrence of a similar crime").

119 See SOBLE, supra note 54.

120 See YAMAMOTO, supra note 70.

121 See SOBLE, supra note 54. 122 See Okinawa Suspect Allegedly Admits to Rape of Woman Before Killing Her (May 21, 2016), JAPAN TIMES, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/05/21/national/crime-legal/okinawa-suspect- allegedly-admits-rape-woman-killing/. 123 Resolution of Protest against the Incident of Disposing the Body of a Woman Allegedly Committed by a Civil Employee of the U.S. Military, A Former Marine Corp Personnel, adopted in Second Session (May 26, 2016), 沖縄県議会[OKINAWA PREFECTURAL ASSEMBLY], https://www.pref.okinawa.jp/site/gikai/23831.html; see also SUITCASE MURDER, supra note 68. 124 See Arata Yamamoto, U.S. Contractor Kenneth Shinzato Charged in Okinawa Murder (Jun. 30, 2016), NBC NEWS, http://www.nbcnews.com/news/military/u-s-contractor-kenneth-shinzato-charged- okinawa-murder-n601581; Ex-U.S. Marine Charged with Rape, Murder of Okinawa Woman (Jun. 30, 2016), ALJAZEERA, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/marine- charged-rape-murder-okinawa-woman-160630080538403.html.

125 See BURKE & SUMIDA, supra note 57. 24 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2 day mourning period. 126 These self-imposed restrictions created further resentment among the 30,000 U.S. troops with local Okinawan communities as formal orders were given to completely abstain from consuming alcohol off-base, or visiting local clubs and bars. 127 These restrictions were dismissed as a symbolic attempt by the U.S. to respond to local concerns regarding the safety of local women after Shimabukuro’s kidnapping and murder in her hometown, given that “[o]ver the years, the U.S. military has imposed a number of measures, such as curfews, sensitivity training and limits to off-base drinking, that have significantly reduced the rate of crime among the 50,000 American service members, their families and Defense Department civilian employees.”128 Okinawan women’s groups and lawmakers called for permanent solutions, including SOFA revisions and relocation of U.S. military installations located in Okinawa’s densely populated areas. III. FEMINIST ALTERNATIVE TO TRADITIONAL SECURITY PARADIGMS Shimabukuro’s murder illuminates how perceptions of immunity under the SOFA from local law enforcement can shape relationships between U.S. military personnel and host communities. The refusal of the U.S. military to collaborate with Japanese law enforcement during the 1995 rape case led to the Okinawan people’s resentment toward the U.S. for inequities underlying the SOFA preventing retribution for harms caused to host communities. The U.S. military’s reluctance to revise the SOFA has been interpreted as an endorsement of a failed system. Thus, the extraterritoriality provision provides the immunity from the Japanese legal

126 See Ex-U.S. Marine Charged with Rape, Murder of Okinawa Woman (Jun. 30, 2016), ALJAZEERA, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/marine-charged-rape- murder-okinawa-woman-160630080538403.html; Jake Adelstein and Louis Krauss, The Suitcase Murder Tearing the U.S. and Japan Apart (Jun. 8, 2016), DAILY BEAST, https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/06/08/the-suitcase-murder-tearing-the-u-s- and-japan-apart. 127 See Takazato Suzuyo, Okinawan Women Demand U.S. Forces Out After Another Rape and Murder: Suspect an ex-Marine and U.S. Military Employee (Jun. 1, 2016), 14 THE ASIA-PACIFIC J. (2016); see also Ex-U.S. Marine Charged with Rape, Murder of Okinawa Woman (Jun. 30, 2016), ALJAZEERA, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/marine-charged-rape-murder-okinawa-woman- 160630080538403.html; Jake Adelstein and Louis Krauss, The Suitcase Murder Tearing the U.S. and Japan Apart (Jun. 8, 2016), DAILY BEAST, https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/06/08/the-suitcase-murder-tearing-the-u-s- and-japan-apart. 128 See Matthew M. Burke, Despite Low Crime Rate, U.S. Military Faces No- Win Situation On Okinawa (Mar. 24, 2016), STARS AND STRIPES, https://www.stripes.com/news/despite-low-crime-rate-us-military-faces-no-win-situation- on-okinawa-1.411132 (reporting that “[o]ver the years, the U.S. military has imposed a number of measures, such as curfews, sensitivity training and limits to off-base drinking, that have significantly reduced the rate of crime among the 50,000 American service members, their families and Defense Department civilian employees”). 2020] Higa 25 system enabling off-duty military personnel to commit acts of sexual violence against Okinawan women without fear of retribution.129 Feminist international relations scholars’ perspectives regarding military prostitution and sexual violence against Okinawan women offer policy justifications to support future revisions to SOFA agreements between the U.S. and its military allies in the Asia-Pacific. Without appropriate procedural safeguards, the legal inequalities between American military personnel and Okinawan host communities are emblematic of a large imbalance of political power that lies at the root of inadequate punishment for crimes against Okinawan women. In order to fully understand how the 2016 alleged rape and murder case is connected to a broader problem, one must explore how American militarization and hypermasculinity institutionalize sexual violence against women of host communities. To address these issues, a feminist international relations approach to the U.S.-Japan security alliance and SOFA reduces tensions between the U.S. military and host communities in Okinawa through additional protections for local host communities from harms caused by off- duty military personnel, while maintaining immunity under the extraterritoriality provision for on-duty U.S. soldiers and civilian components to carry out high-risk activities. Expanding U.S. and Japan’s bilateral security interests to include human security interests of host communities is crucial to Northeast Asia regional security activities conducted through the U.S. bases in Japan, which are heavily concentrated in Okinawa Prefecture. Feminist international relations perspectives are an often-overlooked approach to national security policy through human security strategies aimed at promoting domestic security of host communities supporting U.S. military bases and personnel essential to national security. A. Militarization and Hypermasculinity Separates U.S. Servicemen from Host Communities A feminist international relations framework provides a useful analytical lens when considering the impacts of militarization and hypermasculinity on local women. This view attributes tensions between U.S. personnel and host communities to “sexist attitudes and hyper- masculine culture that pervade the military.” 130 Feminist international

129 See RESISTANT ISLANDS, supra note 26 (presenting facts highlighting the disproportionate burden Okinawa Prefecture shoulders under the SOFA. “As of 2012, nearly 20 percent of the total area of Okinawa Island is occupied by US bases. Okinawa Prefecture, which is only 0.6 percent of the total area of Japan, hosts 75 percent of the US military bases in Japan. This means that the density of US bases in Okinawa is about five hundred times that of [mainland Japan]”). 130 See Gwyn Kirk and Carolyn Bowen Francis, Redefining Security: Women Challenge U.S. Military Policy and Practice in East Asia, 15 BERKELEY WOMEN'S L.J. 229, 240 (2000) [hereinafter Kirk & Francis]. 26 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2 relations scholars criticize the traditional security paradigm for failing to provide a policy and legal framework compatible with human security,131 where the bilateral security alliance between the U.S. and Japan prioritizes national security agendas at the expense of host communities in Okinawa Prefecture.132 The oppression of Okinawan citizens and sexual objectification of local women reveal a core contradiction inherent in U.S. military policy and practice. In Okinawa, security for the nation comes at the expense of communities facing disproportionate safety risks as obligatory hosts of the U.S. military bases. 133 Feminist scholars have identified negative social effects among Okinawan host communities, including institutionalized military prostitution, violence against women and children, and the sexual abuse of women in the military.134 U.S. military authorities and Japanese policymakers conceptualize crimes committed by U.S. troops against local citizens as a private issue ancillary to the bilateral security relationship.135

131 See e.g., J.ANN TICKNER, GENDERED DIMENSIONS OF WAR, PEACE, AND SECURITY, IN GENDERING WORLD POLITICS: ISSUES AND APPROACHES IN THE POST-COLD WAR ERA 36-64 (Columbia University Press, 2010)(2001); SpIKE PETERSON AND ANNE SISSON RUNYAN, GENDERED DIVISIONS OF VIOLENCE, LABOR, AND RESOURCES, IN GLOBAL GENDER ISSUES 113-62 (Westview Press, 2013); Christine Sylvester, FEMINIST THEORY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN A POSTMODERN ERA (Cambridge University Press, 1994); Yumiko Mikanagi, Okinawa: Women, Bases and US-Japan Relations, 4 INT’L REL. OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC 97, 97-111 (2004); CATHERINE LUTZ, MILITARIZATION, IN HANDBOOK OF POLITICAL ANTHROPOLOGY (Joan Vincent and David Nugent, eds., Blackwell, 2004).

132 See MARTHA MATSUOKA AND YOKO FUKUMURA, REDEFINING SECURITY: OKINAWA WOMEN’S RESISTANCE TO U.S. MILITARISM, IN WOMEN’S ACTIVISM AND GLOBALIZATION 239-66 (Nancy A. Naples and Manisha Desai, eds., 2002) [hereinafter Matsuoka & Fukumura]. 133 See generally Gwyn Kirk and Carolyn Bowen Francis, Redefining Security: Women Challenge U.S. Military Policy and Practice in East Asia, 15 BERKELEY WOMEN'S L.J. 229 (2000); see also MARTHA MATSUOKA AND YOKO FUKUMURA, REDEFINING SECURITY: OKINAWA WOMEN’S RESISTANCE TO U.S. MILITARISM, IN WOMEN’S ACTIVISM AND GLOBALIZATION 239-66 (Nancy A. Naples and Manisha Desai, eds., 2002). 134 See Takazato Suzuyo, Okinawan Women Demand U.S. Forces Out After Another Rape and Murder: Suspect an ex-Marine and U.S. Military Employee (Jun. 1, 2016), 14 THE ASIA-PACIFIC J. (2016); Women Activists Join Struggle for Peace in Okinawa (Jul. 11, 2017), SUMMIT MAG., http://www.summitzine.com/posts/women- activists-join-struggle-for-peace-in-okinawa/; Gwyn Kirk and Carolyn Bowen Francis, Redefining Security: Women Challenge U.S. Military Policy and Practice in East Asia, 15 BERKELEY WOMEN'S L.J. 229 (2000); see also MARTHA MATSUOKA AND YOKO FUKUMURA, REDEFINING SECURITY: OKINAWA WOMEN’S RESISTANCE TO U.S. MILITARISM, IN WOMEN’S ACTIVISM AND GLOBALIZATION 239-66 (Nancy A. Naples and Manisha Desai, eds., 2002). 135 See Takazato Suzuyo, Okinawan Women Demand U.S. Forces Out After Another Rape and Murder: Suspect an ex-Marine and U.S. Military Employee (Jun. 1, 2016), 14 ASIA-PACIFIC J. (2016); Gwyn Kirk and Carolyn Bowen Francis, Redefining 2020] Higa 27

However, feminist scholars assert that military sexual violence against local women is a matter of international politics and is intertwined with issues of national security.136 Crimes against local Okinawan women can be attributed to gendered hierarchies and racial power divisions perpetuated by the U.S.- Japan bilateral alliance and SOFA.137 In addition to the sexist patriarchy already existing in aspects of Japan’s patriarchal society, Okinawan women are further victimized by the sexism and misogyny of U.S. military training and hyper-masculine culture.138 According to Cynthia Enloe, a feminist scholar of military systems and international relations, “militarism depends on a clearly gendered division of labor and the maintenance of hierarchy, including sexism and violence against women.”139 Furthermore, “[m]ilitary socialization involves the construction of a militarized masculinity that emphasizes heroism, physical strength, emotional detachment, the capacity for violence and killing, and an appearance of invulnerability.”140

Security: Women Challenge U.S. Military Policy and Practice in East Asia, 15 BERKELEY WOMEN'S L.J. 229 (2000). 136 See Takazato Suzuyo, Okinawan Women Demand U.S. Forces Out After Another Rape and Murder: Suspect an ex-Marine and U.S. Military Employee (Jun. 1, 2016), 14 ASIA-PACIFIC J. (2016); Women Activists Join Struggle for Peace in Okinawa (Jul. 11, 2017), SUMMIT MAG., http://www.summitzine.com/posts/women-activists-join- struggle-for-peace-in-okinawa/; Gwyn Kirk and Carolyn Bowen Francis, Redefining Security: Women Challenge U.S. Military Policy and Practice in East Asia, 15 BERKELEY WOMEN'S L.J. 229 (2000). 137 See Gwyn Kirk and Carolyn Bowen Francis, Redefining Security: Women Challenge U.S. Military Policy and Practice in East Asia, 15 BERKELEY WOMEN'S L.J. 229 (2000); see also KATHRYN H.S. MOON, SEX AMONG ALLIES: MILITARY PROSTITUTION IN U.S.-KOREA RELATIONS (Columbia University Press, 1997); MARTHA MATSUOKA AND YOKO FUKUMURA, REDEFINING SECURITY: OKINAWA WOMEN’S RESISTANCE TO U.S. MILITARISM, IN WOMEN’S ACTIVISM AND GLOBALIZATION 239-66 (Nancy A. Naples and Manisha Desai, eds., 2002). 138 See Gwyn Kirk and Carolyn Bowen Francis, Redefining Security: Women Challenge U.S. Military Policy and Practice in East Asia, 15 BERKELEY WOMEN'S L.J. 229 (2000); see also KATHRYN H.S. MOON, SEX AMONG ALLIES: MILITARY PROSTITUTION IN U.S.-KOREA RELATIONS (Columbia University Press, 1997); MARTHA MATSUOKA AND YOKO FUKUMURA, REDEFINING SECURITY: OKINAWA WOMEN’S RESISTANCE TO U.S. MILITARISM, IN WOMEN’S ACTIVISM AND GLOBALIZATION 239-66 (Nancy A. Naples and Manisha Desai, eds., 2002). 139 See Gwyn Kirk and Carolyn Bowen Francis, Redefining Security: Women Challenge U.S. Military Policy and Practice in East Asia, 15 BERKELEY WOMEN'S L.J. 229, 240 (2000)(summarizing feminist scholar Cynthia Enloe’s analysis of sexism and militarism within a global context); see also CYNTHIA ENLOE, BANANAS, BEACHES & BASES: MAKING FEMINIST SENSE OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICS 81-92 (1990), CYNTHIA ENLOE, THE MORNING AFTER: SEXUAL POLITICS AT THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1993). 140 See Kirk & Francis, supra note 130 at 240-41 (synthesizing feminist perspectives toward military systems and international relations to define the negative impacts of military socialization). 28 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2

Feminist international relations literature provides examples of U.S. military training reinforcing a gendered hierarchy shaping troops’ perception and treatment of Okinawan women in host communities. The process of masculinization involves stripping American servicemen of their previous identity, and “rebuilding them into military men who fight enemies referred to as ‘girls’ or ‘faggots’.”141 Only by becoming a “man” can one become a true soldier who is fit for the operations of war. As Carol Cohn points out, the military does well in fulfilling its “promise to make boys out of men.”142 Through its basic training program, the U.S. military provides lessons in masculinity by calling new male recruits “girls” and “ladies” in order “to convey to them that they are nothing.”143 Thus, the U.S. military is a strictly heterosexual male institution that indoctrinates recruits to uphold a rhetoric that dichotomizes men and women (as well as non- heteronormative individuals); soldiers are taught to analogize men with allies and women with as enemies in order to successfully train soldiers to perform effectively during war. The U.S. military as an institution is separate from Okinawan civil society, since they possess independent values that shape their identities of Okinawan women as sexualized objects. B. Geopolitics and Gendered Hierarchies The militarization process in Okinawa is propelled by geopolitics. Namely, maintaining the U.S. and Japan’s regional security interests in the Asia-Pacific by monitoring threats posed by North Korea, China, and Southeast Asian states. Since their initial establishment over half a century ago, the U.S. military reshaped the structure of Okinawan host communities through the process of militarization. According to feminist scholar Catherine Lutz, militarization is “the contradictory and tense social process in which civil society organizes itself for the production of violence.”144 In Okinawa, the U.S. militarization process not only overhauled the local economy, infrastructure, and military sector, but also created gendered hierarchies between American servicemen and Okinawan women.145

141 Id.

142 CAROL COHN, Gays in the Military: Texts and Subtexts, in THE “MAN” QUESTION IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 129, 142 (Marysia Zalewski and Jane Parpart, eds., Westview Press, 1998) [hereinafter Gays in the Military]. 143 Id.

144 See CATHERINE LUTZ, MILITARIZATION, IN HANDBOOK OF POLITICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 4 (Joan Vincent and David Nugent, eds., Blackwell, 2004) [hereinafter HANDBOOK OF POLITICAL ANTHROPOLOGY].

145 See e.g., MIYUME TANJI & DANIEL BROUDY, OKINAWA UNDER OCCUPATION: MCDONALIDIZATION AND RESISTANCE TO NEOLIBERAL PROPAGANDA (2017); MASAMICHI S. INOUE, OKINAWA AND THE U.S. MILITARY: IDENTITY MAKING IN THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION 31-69 (2017); Kozue Akibayashi and Suzuyo Takazato, Okinawa: Women’s Struggle for Demilitarization, in THE BASES OF EMPIRE: THE GLOBAL 2020] Higa 29

Militarization organizes civil society to increase the amount of labor and resources allocated for military purposes, which is ultimately used for the production of violence to fight and win wars. Most importantly, militarization contributes to “the less visible deformation of human potentials into the hierarchies of race, class, gender, and sexuality, and … shaping of national histories in ways that glorify and legitimate military action.”146 Yumiko Mikanagi, International Christian University professor, explains the current situation in Okinawa by noting that “[i]n times of war, the military takes people’s lives. In times of peace, the military takes the dignity—and often lives—of women”147 The militarization process as a whole shapes values that legitimize the use of force against the enemy during war, which manifests in violent acts committed against local citizens. Ultimately, the gendered power hierarchies and socially sanctioned expressions of hypermasculinity that arise from U.S. military practices attribute to the complex political and social causes that underly the rape and murder of Rina Shimabukuro. C. Negative Impacts of Militarization and Hypermasculinity on Host Communities: Separation of Cultures and Objectification of Locals148 Feminist international relations scholars categorize effects of U.S. military training and hyper-masculine culture on host communities in East Asia countries as: 1) the need for institutionalized prostitution; 2) U.S. military abuse of women in host communities; and 3) sexual abuse of women in the military. 149 Acts of sexual violence committed by U.S. servicemen against local Okinawan women ultimately result from the systemic otherization of local people through a separation of cultures.150

STRUGGLE AGAINST U.S. MILITARY POSTS 243-69 (Catherine Lutz, ed. 2009); see also MATTHEW ALLEN, IDENTITY AND RESISTANCE IN OKINAWA (2002).

146 See HANDBOOK OF POLITICAL ANTHROPOLOGY supra note 144. 147 See Yumiko Mikanagi, Okinawa: Women, Bases and US-Japan Relations, 4 INT’L REL. OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC 97, 97-111 (2004). 148 Although this Article does not focus on sexual abuse of American servicewomen and civilian spouses, the impacts of hypermasculinity also lead to the objectification of women on U.S. military bases. Kirk and Francis note that in addition to abuse of women in host communities, “American women in the military environment are also sexually abused by male personnel. The two different groups of women, military personnel and spouses of military men, find it difficult to obtain acknowledgement of and redress for violence committed by military personnel.” The sexual abuse of women in the military are more clearly defined under U.S. laws than cases involving acts of sexual violence committed against local women by U.S. servicemen. See Kirk & Francis, supra note 130 at 240-41. 149 See Kirk & Francis, supra note 130 at 241.

150 See e.g., MIYUME TANJI & DANIEL BROUDY, OKINAWA UNDER OCCUPATION: MCDONALIDIZATION AND RESISTANCE TO NEOLIBERAL PROPAGANDA (2017); MASAMICHI S. INOUE, OKINAWA AND THE U.S. MILITARY: IDENTITY MAKING IN THE AGE 30 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2

Militarization morally justifies the objectification of local people perpetuated by military training and hypermasculine culture.151 1. U.S. Military Operations Creates a “Need” for Institutionalized Prostitution as a Form of Recreation Prostitution to serve U.S. military base personnel is considered by feminists as a general practice in Japan and other parts of East Asia,152 although prostitution is officially forbidden in these countries.153 Although prostitution was formally banned in Japan in 1956,154 the practice continued

OF GLOBALIZATION 31-69 (2017); Kozue Akibayashi and Suzuyo Takazato, Okinawa: Women’s Struggle for Demilitarization, in THE BASES OF EMPIRE: THE GLOBAL STRUGGLE AGAINST U.S. MILITARY POSTS 243-69 (Catherine Lutz, ed. 2009); see also MATTHEW ALLEN, IDENTITY AND RESISTANCE IN OKINAWA (2002). 151 Otherization and dehumanization are concepts prevalent in American legal scholarship on federal Indian law, analyzing the impact of European and American governing and militant powers on the “otherization” of indigenous populations. “Otherization” of indigenous populations dehumanizes individuals to justify unfair and immoral treatment under the guise of legitimacy through the legal system, or selective recognition of individuals’ rights as members of a minority group. See Robert A. Williams, Jr., Columbus’s Legacy: The Rehnquist Court’s Perpetration of European Cultural Racism against American Indian Tribes, 39 Fed. B. News & J. 358, 358-69 (1992)(“Colonization of one race of peoples by another race … inscribes a legal system of racial discrimination based on cultural differences, denying rights of self- determination to the colonized race which has been displaced from the territory desired by the colonizer race”). Japan’s treatment of the Ainu as a minority group is analyzed by Professor Mark A. Levin. See Mark A. Levin, Essential Commodities and Racial Justice: Using Constitutional Protection of Japan’s Indigenous Ainu People to Inform Understandings of the United States and Japan, 33 N.Y.U. INT’L L. AND POLITICS 419, 488-513 (2001); see also Andrew Daisuke Stewart, Kayano v. Hokkaido Expropriation Committee Revisited: Recognition of Ryukyuans as a Cultural Minority Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, an Alternative Paradigm for Okinawan Demilitarization, 4 Asian-Pacific L. & Pol'y J. 307, 321(2003) (defining Ryukyuans as a cultural minority based on a distinct ethnicity, religion, and language apart from mainland Japan, despite efforts by the Japanese central government to assimilate present-day Okinawa Prefecture into the rest of Japan).

152 See KIRK & FRANCIS, supra note 130 at 240-41.

153 See generally KATHRYN H.S. MOON, SEX AMONG ALLIES: MILITARY PROSTITUTION IN U.S.-KOREA RELATIONS (Columbia University Press, 1997); CYNTHIA H. ENLOE, BASE WOMEN, IN BANANAS, BEACHES, AND BASES: MAKING FEMINIST SENSE OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICS 65-92 (University of California Press, 2014)(2000); CYNTHIA H. ENLOE, THE MORNING AFTER: SEXUAL POLITICS AT THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1993); CAROLYN BOWEN FRANCIS, POSTWAR U.S. MILITARY CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN IN OKINAWA, Unpublished, distributed by the Okinawa Women Act Against Military Violence, Martha Matsuoka, November 2003. 154 Japan outlawed prostitution with Article 3 of the Anti-Prostitution Law (売春 防止法 Baishun Bōshi Hō) of 1956, which states, "[n]o person may either do prostitution or become the customer of it." Prostitution is defined in Japan as "intercourse with an unspecified person in exchange for payment." Cf. Japan’s "sex industry" (fūzoku 風俗, literally "public morals") exists as a 2.3 trillion yen ($24 billion) a year industry, 2020] Higa 31 during the U.S. military occupation of Okinawa until reversion in 1972.155 U.S. military authorities sanctioned military prostitution “not as a perk, but as a necessary component” of military operations. 156 Host governments formed agreements with occupying forces to establish “recreation zones” near military bases or at military ports to be used by U.S. troops for R&R,157 or jokingly referred to as “I&I” (“intoxication and intercourse”). 158 Institutionalized prostitution precedes the postwar U.S. military occupation, dating back to the Meiji Period when Japanese imperialist forces “recruited” Okinawan women to work at comfort stations overseas and in Japan.159 Military prostitution creates an institutionalized dependence among women from vulnerable populations to rely on prostitution for their livelihoods.160 Social stratification within local host communities results from attempts to limit the sexual demands of U.S. military personnel to specific locations and specific women—the “bad” women who are available for sexual servicing, as opposed to the “good” women back home (i.e., mothers sisters, and wives).161 Feminists argue that U.S. military leaders

notwithstanding laws against prostitution, based upon loose interpretations and enforcement of the anti-prostitution law. See Jun Hongo, Law Bends Over Backward to Allow 'Fuzoku' (May 27, 2008), JAPAN TIMES, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2008/05/27/reference/law-bends-over-backward-to- allow-fuzoku/. 155 See Rick Mercier, The Peace Movement in Okinawa: The Continuing Pattern of Violence by U.S. Personnel, Z MAG., 51, 52 (1996)(documenting that Okinawa served as a place where American soldiers could enjoy R&R at the 150+ military brothels established around and on U.S. military installations throughout the Okinawa Island).

156 See KIRK & FRANCIS, supra note 130 at 240-41. 157 In Okinawa Prefecture, there were 146 comfort stations to service Japanese soldiers, even in remote locations like Iejima Island. See OKINAWA: THE AFTERBURN.

158 See KIRK & FRANCIS, supra note 130 at 241-42. 159 See Mercier, supra note 155 at 52 (documenting prostitution in "entertainment zones" for Japanese imperial troops resulted from predominantly agricultural communities in Okinawa losing their land during the hai chiken reforms of the Meiji Restoration in 1899 and 1903 following Okinawa's annexation as a prefecture. “The economic dislocation of [Okinawan] households forced many families to sell their daughters to brokers to work as prostitutes, particularly in Tsujji the island’s licensed ‘entertainments district.’” The displacement of so many Okinawan farming families lead to rapid human trafficking of Okinawan women into the entertainment industry, in hopes of remedying poverty).

160 See KIRK & FRANCIS, supra note 130 at 241-42 (arguing that military prostitution [buys] off women…with higher wages than they can earn in the industrial wage labor sector, and is, in effect, ‘a dumping ground … between the patriarchal family structure and the industrializing labor force’”).

161 See KIRK & FRANCIS, supra note 130 at 244 (advancing the general premise that U.S. troops based in East Asia are separated from local people physically, occupationally, economically, legally, and culturally because military personnel live on 32 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2 view Okinawan women from poor backgrounds as a threat and a source of public menace whose unruly and uncontainable sexuality challenged and destabilized American domination.162 These women are forced by poverty and a lack of meaningful alternatives to work in the sex trade near the bases and remain unprotected by the American military and by their own communities.163 2. Abuse of Women and Children in Host Communities Recruitment of local comfort women for military prostitution contributes to a mindset enabling the abuse of women and children in host communities, leading to an indiscriminate view of Okinawan women as sexual objects when coupled with the separation and objectification of local people. The detachment from host communities are a result of “[the] physical, economic, and cultural separation [that] reinforces the emotional separation that troops learn as part of their training for war. This training relies on their being able to objectify and dehumanize ‘the enemy.’”164 Consequently, U.S. troops displace negative feelings onto host communities

U.S. bases, sprawling, fenced-off enclaves that are virtual islands of American life and culture, separate from local communities).

162 See MIRE KOIKARI, MAKING THE BODY RESPECTABLE: COLD WAR CONTAINMENT AND REGULATION OF SEXUALITY, IN PEDAGOGY OF DEMOCRACY: FEMINISM AND THE COLD WAR IN THE U.S. OCCUPATION OF JAPAN 159-88 (2008)(arguing that poor Okinawan women who worked as prostitutes were viewed as a source of threat and public menace whose unruly and uncontainable sexuality challenged and destabilized American domination); Gwyn Kirk and Carolyn Bowen Francis, Redefining Security: Women Challenge U.S. Military Policy and Practice in East Asia, 15 BERKELEY WOMEN'S L.J. 229, 244 (2000) (advancing the general premise that U.S. troops based in East Asia are separated from local people physically, occupationally, economically, legally, and culturally because military personnel live on U.S. bases, sprawling, fenced-off enclaves that are virtual islands of American life and culture, separate from local communities.).

163 See KIRK & FRANCIS, supra note 130 at 243 (arguing that military prostitution creates physical and psychological stress on women. A woman involved in prostitution may take on a soldier’s homesickness, frustration, alienation, boredom, or fear, and, at the same time, deal with his sexism and racism. She may drink or do drugs as a way of coping with the job. Militarized prostitution has had … serious side effects on women’s health, including HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, drug and alcohol dependency, and mental illness. Women who work in bars, massage parlors, and brothels near U.S. bases are also particularly vulnerable to physical and sexual violence.” From the sexist perspectives of the host governments, women in military prostitution are to be disparaged and stigmatized).

164 See KIRK & FRANCIS, supra note 130 at 249. 2020] Higa 33 through reckless driving,165 assaults on local civilians, and violence against women.166 The 1995 and 2016 rape cases involved Americans who deliberately searched for rape victims among the host community because of the belief that immunity under the SOFA would prevent getting caught or punished by local police. This mindset exemplifies “recreational rape,” where “soldiers employ sexual violence for personal gratification, whether sexual or out of a desire for domination.”167 Gadson’s confessions, as well as statements made in court by the rapists in the 1995 incident, fit the definition of recreational rapes,168 rather than systematic rape ordered by military officials as an instrument of war.169 Detachment from the host community and objectification of local women are present among all levels of the U.S. military. “[A]lthough ‘recreational rape’ is a feature of most state militaries, it is particularly associated with the U.S. military . . . Many military men have come to expect sexual servicing not just as a perk but as a right and even a necessity

165 See U.S. Marine Arrested for DUI After Involvement in Naha Fatal Collision (Nov. 20, 2017), RYUKYU SHIMPO, http://english.ryukyushimpo.jp/2017/11/24/28093/ (documenting a fatal crash resulting from a U.S. Marine who killed a 61-year-old Okinawan driver while under the influence of alcohol).

166 See SARA MEGER, A PRELIMINARY TYPOLOGY OF WARTIME SEXUAL VIOLENCE, IN RAPE LOOT PILLAGE: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN ARMED CONFLICT 57 (2016) (defining three conditions under which American soldiers perpetuate sexual violence, including recreational rape, national security rape, and systematic mass rape); see also Gwyn Kirk and Carolyn Bowen Francis, Redefining Security: Women Challenge U.S. Military Policy and Practice in East Asia, 15 BERKELEY WOMEN'S L.J. 229, 249-50 (2000).

167 See SARA MEGER, A PRELIMINARY TYPOLOGY OF WARTIME SEXUAL VIOLENCE, IN RAPE LOOT PILLAGE: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN ARMED CONFLICT 57 (2016) (defining "recreational rape" as when soldiers employ sexual violence for personal gratification, whether sexual or out of a desire for domination. In general, recreational rape occurs opportunistically and is thus attributable to individual motivation); see also CYNTHIA H. ENLOE, THE MORNING AFTER: SEXUAL POLITICS AT THE END OF THE COLD WAR 158 (1993); SPIKE PETERSON AND ANNE SISSON RUNYAN, GENDERED DIVISIONS OF VIOLENCE, LABOR, AND RESOURCES, IN GLOBAL GENDER ISSUES 113, 159 (Westview Press, 2013).

168 See CYNTHIA H. ENLOE, THE MORNING AFTER: SEXUAL POLITICS AT THE END OF THE COLD WAR 158 (1993); SPIKE PETERSON AND ANNE SISSON RUNYAN, GENDERED DIVISIONS OF VIOLENCE, LABOR, AND RESOURCES, IN GLOBAL GENDER ISSUES 113, 159 (2013). 169 Cf. "National security rape" is defined as "a tool employed by a nervous state that is preoccupied with what it perceives as threats to its national security. Under this condition, Peru, Colombia, Sri Lanka, and Burma have all used sexual violence and the threat of sexual violence systematically in the name of national security. See SARA MEGER, A PRELIMINARY TYPOLOGY OF WARTIME SEXUAL VIOLENCE, IN RAPE LOOT PILLAGE: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN ARMED CONFLICT 57 (2016). 34 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2 during their stints overseas.”170 These general attitudes toward Okinawan women as sexualized objects were made evident by Admiral Richard C. Macke, who commented that “[f]or the price they [the confessed rapists under his command] paid to rent the car, they could have had a girl [i.e. a prostitute in Naha].”171 This quote evidences that the problem exists not only at the lower rungs of the U.S. military, but also at the higher levels. Some viewed the 1995 rape as a private issue, not concerning international politics or national security, since rape crimes exist in many other parts of the world. However, a gendered analysis of the 1995 and 2016 rape cases reveals that underlying assumptions of U.S. military leaders, and the perpetuation of a system enabling acts of sexual violence against local Okinawan women, necessitates further SOFA revisions to deter this behavior. IV. FEMINIST CRITIQUE OF U.S.-JAPAN SOFA A feminist analysis of the U.S.-Japan SOFA identifies opportunities to update problematic provisions to improve the relationship between the U.S. military and host communities in Okinawa.172 The inequities that exist between U.S. and Japan in enforcing SOFA guidelines concerning crimes committed against local citizens are illustrated by the relatively low substantive protection for Japan as the host country as written into the agreement.173 This problem is evident in the handling of U.S. servicemen who commit particularly egregious acts of sexual violence against local Okinawan women, and whose trials and punishments are often conducted away from the watchful eye of Japanese media and anti-base protestors. Furthermore, feminists allege that the U.S. and Japan’s rhetoric of alliance and friendship “hides the fact that citizens of [Japan and other] East Asian countries are not protected by the SOFAs to the same degree as the Western European countries of the NATO alliance.”174

170 See SPIKE PETERSON AND ANNE SISSON RUNYAN, GENDERED DIVISIONS OF VIOLENCE, LABOR, AND RESOURCES, IN GLOBAL GENDER ISSUES 113, 159 (2013).

171 See JOHNSON: COLD WAR ISLAND, supra note 19 at 116. 172 See Kirk & Francis, supra note 130 at 250-51 (summarizing major disputes in Okinawa regarding the SOFA’s coverage of “how land will be secured for U.S. military use, whether the U.S. military is responsible for clean-up of contamination when it returns land to the host country, [and] procedures for dealing with U.S. personnel who commit crimes against people in host communities”). 173 See Kirk & Francis, supra note 130 at 250-51 (arguing that despite the fact that SOFAs are bilateral agreements between sovereign nations, suggesting that the two countries involved are on equal footing, SOFAs in East Asia reflect unequal bargaining power between the U.S. and host governments that leads to provisions inadequately protecting the host communities). 174 See Kirk & Francis, supra note 130 at 251. 2020] Higa 35

National security priorities irrationally sacrifice human security interests when the Japanese government overlooks military violence against women in order to continue hosting U.S. military bases and operations, even in situations where Japan’s foreign criminal jurisdiction over heinous crimes are authorized under the SOFA.175 The Japanese government sees its national security as intertwined with that of the U.S., partly because the status quo perpetuates Japan’s continued reliance on the U.S. militarily, politically, and economically.176 Prime Minister Abe’s recent attempts to re- militarize Japan through revision of Article 9 and calls for greater accountability of the U.S. military to prevent future crimes indicate Japan’s willingness to break away from the stereotype that “East Asian governments have been prepared to accept SOFAs despite their inadequate protections for host communities from U.S. military crime and violence.”177 A. National Rhetoric Fails to Address Crimes in Host Communities The U.S. and Japanese governments regularly invoke national rhetoric of alliance and friendship clouding citizens’ perceptions of military base relations with host communities. 178 This approach relieves policymakers from resolving systemic problems enabling repeated acts of sexual violence against local women. The 2016 rape incident drew international attention as then-President Obama,179 Prime Minister Abe,180

175 See Kirk & Francis, supra note 130 at 250-51. 176 See Kirk & Francis, supra note 130 at 251-52 177 See Kirk & Francis, supra note 130 at 252-53 178 See Kirk & Francis, supra note 130 at 251-52 (pointing out rhetoric about U.S. SOFAs in East Asia hide the fact that citizens of East Asian countries are not protected by the SOFAs to the same degree as the Western European countries of the NATO alliance). 179 See Ex-U.S. Marine Charged with Rape, Murder of Okinawa Woman (Jun. 30, 2016), ALJAZEERA, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/marine-charged-rape- murder-okinawa-woman-160630080538403.html (reporting on former-President Barack Obama expressing regret over the incident and vowed to enact measures to prevent crime by Americans on Japanese soil). 180 See Soble, supra note 54 (reporting that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters, “I am extremely upset. I have no words. I demand that the United States take strict measures to prevent something like this from happening again”); YAMAMOTO, supra note 70 (reporting that Abe lodged a formal complaint with President Obama over the incident when the President visited for G7 summit in May, 2016; see also Okinawa Suspect Allegedly Admits to Rape of Woman Before Killing Her (May 21, 2016), JAPAN TIMES, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/05/21/national/crime-legal/okinawa- suspect-allegedly-admits-rape-woman-killing/ (reporting that Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida called the incident “an extremely cruel and atrocious crime.” Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani lodged a protest with the commander of U.S. military forces in Okinawa over Shinzato’s arrest, “demand[ing] that the U.S. military in Okinawa enhance discipline and take measures to prevent such incidents from recurring”). 36 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2 and Governor Onaga181 unanimously called for greater accountability for the SOFA’s role in setting out the legal rights and obligations of U.S. soldiers and civilian components stationed in Japan.182 Notwithstanding the Abe administration’s firm commitments to maintaining the U.S.-Japan security alliance, the local reactions to Shimabukuro’s murder reopened fresh wounds from the 2015 alleged rape of a Japanese tourist in Naha. Abe realized that local protests calling for complete U.S. troop withdrawal placed Japan’s relationship with the U.S. in jeopardy “by not adequately addressing the Okinawan concerns over the fundamental inequality of the U.S.-Japan SOFA.” 183 U.S. military and diplomatic leaders resorted to the typical “piecemeal measures” to placate concerns toward the SOFA’s inequalities by “restricting alcohol consumption,184 imposing curfews,185 [and] issuing public apologies186 for soldiers’ transgressions.” 187 These restrictions were merely symbolic gestures by the U.S. to respond to local concerns regarding the safety of local women after Shimabukuro’s murder.188

181 See Jake Adelstein and Louis Krauss, The Suitcase Murder Tearing the U.S. and Japan Apart (Jun. 8, 2016), DAILY BEAST, https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/06/08/the-suitcase-murder-tearing-the-u-s- and-japan-apart (reporting that the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly approved a resolution demanding the U.S. Marines leave Okinawa). 182 See Suzuyo, supra note 11; see also Tyler J. Hill, Revision of the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA): Relinquishing U.S. Legal Authority in the Name of American Foreign Policy, 32 UCLA PAC. BASIN L.J. 105, 108, 112-17 (2015)(defining the legal rights and obligations of U.S. soldiers and civilian components under the SOFA). 183 See Hill, supra note 2 at 124. 184 See Suitcase Murder, supra note 68 (stating that the U.S. military adopted self-imposed restrictions, including curfew and temporary curbs on alcohol consumption, during a 30-day mourning period). 185 See Ex-U.S. Marine Charged with Rape, Murder of Okinawa Woman (Jun. 30, 2016), Aljazeera, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/marine-charged-rape- murder-okinawa-woman-160630080538403.html, (last visited May 23, 2020) (stating that 30,000 U.S. troops in Okinawa were ordered not to drink alcohol off-base or visit clubs and bars). 186 See Burke & Sumida, supra note 94 (documenting public apologies made by former-U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and Lt. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson, Marine Forces Japan Commander). 187 See Hill, supra note 2 at 124. 188 See Matthew M. Burke, Despite Low Crime Rate, U.S. Military Faces No- Win Situation On Okinawa (Mar. 24, 2016), STARS AND STRIPES, https://www.stripes.com/news/despite-low-crime-rate-us-military-faces-no-win-situation- on-okinawa-1.411132 (last visited May 23, 2020) (reporting that “[o]ver the years, the U.S. military has imposed a number of measures, such as curfews, sensitivity training and limits to off-base drinking, that have significantly reduced the rate of crime among the 2020] Higa 37

B. Where Are the Numbers? Lack of Accurate Reporting of Acts of Sexual Violence against Local Women Obfuscate the Problem The Suitcase Murder revealed the clouded perception that rapes of local Okinawan women involving off-duty U.S. military personnel are isolated incidents, rather than part of a pattern of behavior. This perception stemmed from the lack of accurate data on crimes committed by U.S. military personnel involving Okinawan host communities because disclosure was not required under the SOFA. Although the Okinawan Prefectural Government collected its own data, the differences in the categorization of crimes under the U.S. and Japanese legal systems left unresolved differences in datasets reporting these crimes. Furthermore, the improbability that local law enforcement would prosecute U.S. personnel accused of crimes involving local citizens led to underreporting of rapes and other acts of violence.189 Thus, decisions to maintain the status quo for the SOFA’s provisions pertaining to crimes committed against host communities are based upon incomplete and inaccurate information in the absence of a system collecting comprehensive crime statistics. Japan’s national criminal statistics do not accurately document rapes and other acts of violence involving Okinawan women because the numbers are aggregated and not tracked individually according to the victim’s gender. According to Kirk and Francis, “[d]ata related to crimes of violence occurring overseas and perpetrated by U.S. military personnel are at best a guess due to underreporting, slippages, confusion over definitions, lack of a tracking system and inability to ascertain specific installation data.”190 The Okinawa Prefectural Government galvanized local opposition groups to demand revision of the SOFA and reduction of the U.S. military burden on Okinawa by releasing crime statistics involving U.S. military personnel. Okinawa Prefectural Governor Takeshi Onaga, called for SOFA revisions to rectify inequalities, citing that “U.S. military, contractors, and their families covered under the Status of Forces

50,000 American service members, their families and Defense Department civilian employees”). 189 See Kirk & Francis, supra note 130 at 247 (2000) (attributing underreporting to victim’s’ shame, fear, or belief that perpetrators will not be apprehended or punished); cf. Eric L. Robinson, Lost in Translation: U.S. Forces and Crime in Japan (Sep. 2015), https://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/47321/15Sep_Robinson_Eric.pdf?sequen ce=1&isAllowed=y (arguing that Okinawa’s report of low crime rates to the local media disproportionately attributing crime to the U.S. military and affiliated personnel. Crime rates are already low throughout Japan, although Okinawa Prefecture reports more crimes than other prefectures. However, Robinson argues that the media’s over-attribution pattern is indicative of a national problem of the Japanese media over-attributing crimes to non-Japanese residents). 190 See Kirk & Francis, supra note 130 at 247-48. 38 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2

Agreement have committed 5,896 crimes since 1972.”191 Shimabukuro’s kidnapping and murder was among more than 500 crimes defined as a “heinous crime” under Japanese law,192 including 120 rapes committed by U.S. military personnel in Okinawa since Okinawa Prefecture reverted from U.S. military occupation to Japanese administration in 1972.193 Onaga conveyed concerns regarding heinous crimes to U.S. Ambassador William F. Haggerty during their first official meeting at the Okinawa Prefectural Office, during which Onaga held America responsible for the “discrimination” associated with the new base construction that is part of the MCAS Futenma base relocation on an already U.S. military-heavy Okinawa.194 U.S. military officials disagreed with the Okinawa Prefectural Government’s characterization of the military presence as a threat to host communities, pointing out that “while the crimes are horrific, statistically the U.S. military and its dependents may commit fewer crimes in Okinawa than the Okinawans themselves.”195 Indeed, Okinawa’s populace has a crime rate more than twice as high as Onaga’s reported crime statistics committed by U.S. military personnel since 1972—69.7 crimes per 10,000 people, compared with 27.4 by SOFA members.196 Further comparison of crimes committed by U.S. military personnel and Japanese nationals in Okinawa have not been possible because the Okinawa Prefectural Police refused to release crime statistics.197 The view that crimes involving U.S. military personnel and host communities are insignificant because these occur less frequently than

191 See Adelstein & Krauss, supra note 123 (presenting contrasting data highlighting higher numbers of local crimes perpetuated by Okinawan citizens. Critics of the anti-base movement point out that “while the crimes are horrific, statistically the U.S. military and its dependents may commit fewer crimes in Okinawa than the Okinawans themselves.” Okinawa’s populace has a crime rate more than twice as high as Onaga’s reported crime statistics committed by U.S. military personnel since 1972 – 69.7 crimes per 10,000 people, compared with 27.4 by SOFA members).

192 See Another Heinous Crime in Okinawa (May 23, 2017), JAPAN TIMES, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2016/05/23/editorials/another-heinous-crime- okinawa/ ("According to local police statistics, from the reversion of Okinawa to Japan in 1972 to the end of 2015, the prefecture saw 574 heinous crimes committed by members and civilian workers of the U.S. forces and their relatives, with 741 investigated. These crimes included 26 cases of murder, 129 cases of rape, 394 cases of burglary and 25 cases of arson"). 193 See Suzuyo, supra note 11. 194 Governor Onaga Says “The New Base is Discrimination,” and “America Is Responsible” In Appeal to US Ambassador (Nov. 14, 2017), RYUKYU SHIMPO, http://english.ryukyushimpo.jp/2017/11/15/28043/. 195 See Adelstein & Krauss, supra note 181. 196 See Adelstein & Krauss, supra note 181. 197 See Adelstein & Krauss, supra note 181. 2020] Higa 39 crimes involving Japanese nationals in Okinawa is problematic for two reasons. First, incomplete data and underreporting of crimes committed against local women and children by U.S. servicemen would result in policy decisions made based on potentially inaccurate information. Second, even if the data was correct, injustice prevails where crime statistics reporting is not applied to re-align foreign criminal jurisdictional provisions of the SOFA to limit protections for heinous crimes committed by off-duty military personnel. The Okinawan Prefectural Government’s ability to reduce crimes in host communities is subject to an accurate reporting of crimes to identify patterns of problematic behavior, and more importantly, the legal authority to prosecute crimes to deter future acts of violence. V. SECURITY FOR WHOM? CALL FOR REVISION OF THE SECURITY OF FORCES AGREEMENT Gadson’s conviction and life sentence by a panel of lay judges offers a remedial form of justice for Shimabukuro’s kidnapping and murder, however, the true victory lies in the unprecedented changes through the 2017 supplemental agreement to the SOFA. Okinawa’s agony from the handling of the 1995 rape incident, where the three U.S. servicemen evaded the Japanese criminal justice system under the SOFA extraterritoriality provision, was prevented by U.S. military cooperating with Gadson’s surrender to Okinawan law enforcement. 198 The 2017 supplemental agreement’s deviation clause provides a legal mechanism for U.S. military contractors to be tried in a Japanese court by lay judges representing the Okinawan people’s notions of justice. 199 Prior to this agreement, U.S. military contractors enjoyed the same protections as civilian components under the extraterritoriality provision and were required to meet lower pre- employment screening standards. The SOFA’s extraterritoriality provision provides “a shield that protects American troops from facing accountability [in Japanese courts],” but no longer extends these protections to military contractors who commit crimes involving Japanese nationals while off- duty.200 Thus, the 2017 SOFA supplemental agreement promotes greater accountability of U.S. military contractors through stricter pre-employment screening and limitations on extraterritoriality protections.

198 See Another Heinous Crime in Okinawa (May 23, 2017), JAPAN TIMES, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2016/05/23/editorials/another-heinous-crime- okinawa/ ("U.S. authorities detained the suspects in a U.S. base but refused to turn them over to the Okinawa police on the strength of the SOFA"). 199 See generally Hiroshi Segi, 絶望の裁判所 ("Zetsubo no Saibansho," lit. "Courts Without Hope")(2014); see also Tomohiro Osaki, Ex-Judge Lifts Lid on Japan's "Corrupt" Judicial System (Apr. 30, 2014), JAPAN TIMES, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/04/30/national/crime-legal/ex-judge-lifts-lid- japans-corrupt-judicial-system/. 200 See Hill, supra note 2 at 2. 40 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2

A. 2017 SOFA Supplemental Agreement Responds to Okinawa Women’s Movement The 2017 SOFA supplemental agreement201 came almost nine months after Shimabukuro’s murder in response to women’s grassroots movements calling for SOFA revision “to reduce crimes committed by U.S. military base workers.”202 The supplemental agreement addressed concerns from women’s grassroots movements that current definitions of U.S. civilian components under the SOFA’s concurrent jurisdiction provision could potentially lead to confusing and inconsistent treatment of heinous crimes perpetrated by contractors employed at U.S. military bases. 1. Legal Loopholes Protecting U.S. Servicemen and Civilian Components for Crimes Committed while Off Duty Under the SOFA’s extraterritoriality provision, Gadson’s standing as a retired marine working as a civilian contractor203 gave the U.S. military the primary right to exercise jurisdiction over crimes committed during the course of his official duties. 204 However, Gadson was not granted extraterritorial immunity under the SOFA because his alleged crimes were conducted while he was off duty.205 Under SOFA Article 17, section 1(b), “the authorities of Japan shall have jurisdiction over the members of the United States armed forces, the civilian component, and their dependents with respect to offenses committed within the territory of Japan and

201 See 2017 SOFA Supplemental Agreement, supra note 27. 202 See Ayako Mie, Japan and U.S. Sign Deal Clarifying Civilian Protection Under SOFA (Jan. 16, 2017), JAPAN TIMES, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/16/national/politics-diplomacy/japan-u-s- sign-deal-clarifying-civilian-protection-sofa/ [hereinafter Mie]. 203 Contractors employed on U.S. military bases comprise of local hires, who are typically citizens of the host country, and retired servicemen who remain in the host country, usually because of marrying a local citizen. 204 See Article VI of Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security Between the United States and Japan, 1960, Art. XVII 1(a) The military authorities of the United States shall have the right to exercise within Japan all criminal and disciplinary jurisdiction conferred on them by the law of the United States over all persons subject to the military law of the United States. Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, U.S.- Japan, Jan. 19, 1960, 11 U.S.T. 1652 at 27; see also Another Heinous Crime in Okinawa (May 23, 2017), JAPAN TIMES, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2016/05/23/editorials/another-heinous-crime- okinawa/.

205 See Another Heinous Crime in Okinawa (May 23, 2017), JAPAN TIMES, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2016/05/23/editorials/another-heinous-crime- okinawa/. ("Under the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), investigative authorities in Okinawa do not need to hand the suspect in the latest case over to the U.S. side because the crime was committed while he was off duty"). 2020] Higa 41 punishable by the law of Japan.”206 Gadson was subject to criminal liability under the Japanese criminal justice system because his acts met the requirements for the SOFA concurrent jurisdiction clause and did not fall within any of the three exceptions.207 Gadson could have avoided arrest by Okinawan investigative authorities if he sought asylum at a U.S. military base, or the U.S. Consulate General in Okinawa.208 One Japanese legal expert explained SOFA Article 17, Section 5(c) by pointing out, “[a]lthough Japan holds the right to try U.S. forces-related suspects for acts committed while they are off duty, the Japanese side in principle cannot have the U.S. military turn them over until indictment if the suspects have managed to flee to U.S. facilities and are detained by U.S. authorities.”209 Under circumstances where Japanese law enforcement suspect U.S. servicemen of committing crimes while off duty, “Japanese investigators have to interrogate the suspects on a voluntary basis with the cooperation of U.S. authorities.”210 This legal loophole was used

206 Article VI of Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security Between the United States and Japan, 1960, Art. XVII 1(b) the authorities of Japan shall have jurisdiction over the members of the United States armed forces, the civilian component, and their dependents with respect to offenses committed within the territory of Japan and punishable by the law of Japan. Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, U.S.-Japan, Jan. 19, 1960, 11 U.S.T. 1652 at 27. 207 See Hill supra note 2 at 113-14 (“Concurrent jurisdiction applies when the act committed is a crime under both U.S. and Japanese law… The concurrent jurisdictional regime grants Japan, as the receiving state, primary jurisdiction over most offenses”). Both kidnapping and murder are defined as criminal acts under American and Japanese criminal law, and therefore, Gadson met the requirements for concurrent jurisdiction for the alleged kidnapping, attempted rape, and murder of Rina Shimabukuro. Gadon’s acts did not trigger the inter se exception under article XVII 3(a)(i) because he did not commit an offense against U.S. property or security, or solely against the person or property of another member of the U.S. armed forces, civilian component, or dependent. The waiver exception was not triggered because Japan did not yield its primary concurrent jurisdiction by waiving its right to prosecute Gadson to the U.S. Finally, Gadson did not meet the official duty exception because his acts were committed outside of his official duties as an IT services contractor at Kadena Air Base. 208 See Article VI of Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security Between the United States and Japan, 1960, Art. XVII 5(c) “The custody of an accused member of the United States armed forces or the civilian component over whom Japan is to exercise jurisdiction shall, if he is in the hands of the United States, remain with the United States until he is charged by Japan.” Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, U.S.-Japan, Jan. 19, 1960, 11 U.S.T. 1652 at 30; see also Another Heinous Crime in Okinawa (May 23, 2017), JAPAN TIMES, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2016/05/23/editorials/another-heinous-crime- okinawa/.

209 See Another Heinous Crime in Okinawa (May 23, 2017), JAPAN TIMES, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2016/05/23/editorials/another-heinous-crime- okinawa/. 210 See Article VI of Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security Between the United States and Japan, 1960, Art. XVII 5(a) The military authorities of the United 42 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2 by the three U.S. servicemen following the 1995 rape incident to avoid arrest by local law enforcement. Although Gadson was promptly arrested during the investigation following the discovery of Shimabukuro’s body, Gadson’s alleged crimes exacerbated negative feelings toward the SOFA. This resentment fueled the anti-base protests211 creating major complications for the U.S. and Japanese bilateral alliance for the costly delays of the MCAS relocation and construction of the Henoko military installation in Oura Bay. Japanese politicians and media echoed prior calls for SOFA revisions following the 1995 rape to prevent U.S. servicemen from receiving protection from Japanese law enforcement for heinous crimes committed against host communities. The anti-base protest movement following the 1995 rape incident called for SOFA revisions. The response from U.S. and Japanese lawmakers was merely an agreement to improve cooperation in handing over suspects for heinous crimes, including rape and murder. 212 The reluctance of the U.S. and Japanese central governments to revise the SOFA to impose stricter regulations against crimes committed by U.S. servicemen on local communities while off duty reinforced feminists’ criticism that Japan’s national government preferred empty rhetoric over long-term solutions to deter future acts of sexual violence against Okinawan women. 2. 2017 SOFA Supplemental Agreement Eliminates Legal Loophole by Expanding Legal Jurisdiction to Military Contractors The perception of the SOFA as a legal loophole for U.S. servicemen to avoid prosecution for crimes committed against local communities stems from the general sentiment that local police are

States and the authorities of Japan shall assist each other in the arrest of members of the United States armed forces, the civilian component, or their dependents in the territory of Japan and in handing them over to the authority which is to exercise jurisdiction in accordance with the above provisions. Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, U.S.- Japan, Jan. 19, 1960, 11 U.S.T. 1652 29-30; see also Another Heinous Crime in Okinawa (May 23, 2017), THE JAPAN TIMES, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2016/05/23/editorials/another-heinous-crime- okinawa/. 211 See Yoshikazu Tsuno, Thousands Protest Alleged Rape by US Marine in Japan's Okinawa" (Mar. 23, 2016), RT, https://www.rt.com/news/336822-protest- okinawa-alleged-rape/.

212 See Another Heinous Crime in Okinawa (May 23, 2017), JAPAN TIMES, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2016/05/23/editorials/another-heinous-crime- okinawa/ ("As local people raised their voices calling for a SOFA revision, Tokyo and Washington reached an agreement without revising SOFA under which the U.S. side will give favorable consideration to Japanese requests that it hand over suspects if they are suspected of having committed heinous crimes such as murder and rape. But the agreement does not make it mandatory that the U.S. hand over suspects and in 2002 the American forces rejected a request by Japan that it turn over a U.S. force member suspected of attempted rape"). 2020] Higa 43 powerless to prevent crimes by U.S. servicemen.213 The 1995 rape case highlights the disparities in power between American personnel and local citizens that prevent local Okinawan law enforcement to prosecute rape, and other violent crimes committed by American servicemen. SOFA Article 17, Section 5 stipulates that “[w]hen U.S. servicemen and their families commit crimes, they shall be detained by U.S. authorities until Japanese law enforcement agencies file complaints with the prosecutors’ office based on clear suspicion.” Even after following these procedures, the Okinawa Prefectural Police was not promptly given custody of the alleged rapists, who remained protected under the SOFA concurrent jurisdiction provision while they remained on base. The SOFA terms were not revised in response to the 1995 rape, which was viewed as a local issue and not a national one concerning the bilateral security alliance. However, calls for action from the collective opposition by Japanese national and local governments and women’s groups brought about the 2017 SOFA supplemental agreement as a response to Shimabukuro’s murder.214 The U.S. and Japanese central government revised the SOFA to provide clarity regarding criminal liability for contractors employed on the U.S. bases in attempt to prevent future crimes against local citizens.215 The supplemental agreement responded to Okinawan citizens’ concerns regarding the SOFA as an unequal alliance intended to protect U.S. troops from being held legally accountable for crimes committed in the host country. Ultimately, the SOFA supplemental agreement will satisfy a long-standing call to “reduce the number of cases where the host state is left without legal redress upon one of its citizens harmed by an American soldier … [and address] the perception of injustice … as U.S. military offenders are tried before Japanese courts for the entire country to witness.”216 The 2017 SOFA supplemental agreement aimed to “limit and clarify the definition of the civilian component protected under the Status

213 See Erik Slavin, US, Japan Finalize Agreement Narrowing SOFA for Contractors, STARS & STRIPES (Jan. 16, 2017), https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/16/national/politics-diplomacy/japan-u-s- sign-deal-clarifying-civilian-protection-sofa/ (“While SOFA does not prevent U.S. personnel who commit crimes off-base from being prosecuted, it does in many cases allow them to remain in U.S. custody pending trial”) [hereinafter Slavin] 214 See 2017 SOFA Supplemental Agreement, supra note 27. 215 See Ayako Mie, Japan and U.S. Sign Deal Clarifying Civilian Protection Under SOFA (Jan. 16, 2017), JAPAN TIMES, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/16/national/politics-diplomacy/japan-u-s- sign-deal-clarifying-civilian-protection-sofa/; Erik Slavin, US, Japan Finalize Agreement Narrowing SOFA for Contractors, STARS & STRIPES (Jan. 16, 2017), https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/16/national/politics-diplomacy/japan-u-s- sign-deal-clarifying-civilian-protection-sofa/. 216 See Hill, supra note 2 at 128. 44 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2 of Forces Agreement.”217 Previously, the SOFA did not provide a clear definition of “civilian components,” assumed to be spouses and other dependents accompanying the U.S. serviceman in the host country.218 Under the new agreement, SOFA protections for civilian components were more narrowly construed, requiring contractors to fit at least one of five qualifications to meet the revised definition of “civilian components” protected under SOFA.219 The qualifications include those who acquired knowledge and skills via higher educational institutions, those who have security clearance and licenses issued by the U.S. government, those who are staying in the country less than 91 days for an emergency mission, and those who are authorized by the Japan-U.S. Joint Committee.220 The expanded jurisdiction of crimes committed by U.S. contractors was limited to only future contractors and not applied retroactively to existing contractors. The terms of the new agreement will apply to contractors grandfathered into the prior SOFA provisions, once their current contracts expire and they enter into new ones upon renewal. Typical contracts are renewable on an annual basis, which will ensure that all contractors working on U.S. military bases in Okinawa Prefecture will be held accountable to the new terms within the next twelve months. Gadson would have likely qualified under the new agreement as a contractor already holding a security clearance and license issued by the U.S. government. Despite Gadson’s history of psychological problems and desire to harm others, he passed a rigorous background check and screening process in obtaining the requisite security clearance to serve in the U.S. Marines.221 The existing safeguards are inadequate to screening

217 See 2017 SOFA Supplemental Agreement, supra note 27; see also Ayako Mie, Japan and U.S. Sign Deal Clarifying Civilian Protection Under SOFA (Jan. 16, 2017), JAPAN TIMES, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/16/national/politics- diplomacy/japan-u-s-sign-deal-clarifying-civilian-protection-sofa/; Erik Slavin, US, Japan Finalize Agreement Narrowing SOFA for Contractors, STARS & STRIPES (Jan. 16, 2017), https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/16/national/politics-diplomacy/japan- u-s-sign-deal-clarifying-civilian-protection-sofa/. 218 See Article VI of Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security Between the United States and Japan, 1960, Art. XVII 1(a) The military authorities of the United States shall have the right to exercise within Japan all criminal and disciplinary jurisdiction conferred on them by the law of the United States over all persons subject to the military law of the United States. Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, U.S.- Japan, Jan. 19, 1960, 11 U.S.T. 1652 at 27. 219 See Mie, supra note 202. 220 See Mie, supra note 202. 221 See Background Checks and Security Clearances for Federal Jobs, Partnership for Public Service, http://gogovernment.org/how_to_apply/next_steps/security_clearance.php (last visited May 23, 2020); Status of U.S. Forces Agreement USA, Embassy of Japan in the United States of America, https://www.us.emb- japan.go.jp/english/html/travel_and_visa/visa/other-status-of-us-forces-agreement.html 2020] Higa 45

U.S. servicemen and civilian components with the potential to commit heinous acts of sexual violence against local women, even after one of the most horrific U.S. military rape case took place over a decade ago. Accordingly, the Japan-U.S. Joint Committee should implement a stricter screening procedure to assess any potential risk to the host community prior to hiring contractors.222 3. 2017 SOFA Supplemental Agreement Includes New Data Reporting Requirements to Improve Crime Statistics The 2017 SOFA supplemental agreement improves transparency through data gathering requirements for the U.S. military on crimes involving contractors and civilian components and annual disclosures to the Japanese government. For the first time, both countries committed to new reporting requirements to define seven categories of people who will be covered as civilian components, including contractors.223 Under the new reporting requirements, the U.S. will notify Tōkyō of the number of the civilian component members and contractors each year.224 Before this agreement, the Japanese government had not been updated with the latest information regarding contractors currently employed on U.S. military bases in a timely manner. The U.S. government will also notify the Japanese government of contractors protected by SOFA, including names and qualifications.225 The December 2016 report of current U.S. military servicemen and civilian components in Japan indicated there were about 7,300 civilian component members, of which about 2,000 are

(last visited May 23, 2020); see also Rod Powers, Security Clearance Military Secrets: The Basics of Getting a Security Clearance in the Military (Oct. 18, 2016), BALANCE, https://www.thebalance.com/security-clearance-secrets-3331997 (last visited May 23, 2020). 222 Many contractors are hired to supplement the civilian workforce on U.S. military bases and are intended to be hired for time-sensitive projects. A balance between thorough screening procedures and efficient hiring processes is essential to the new SOFA guidelines succeeding. 223 See 2017 SOFA Supplemental Agreement, supra note 27; see also Ayako Mie, Japan and U.S. Sign Deal Clarifying Civilian Protection Under SOFA (Jan. 16, 2017), JAPAN TIMES, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/16/national/politics- diplomacy/japan-u-s-sign-deal-clarifying-civilian-protection-sofa/; Erik Slavin, US, Japan Finalize Agreement Narrowing SOFA for Contractors, STARS & STRIPES (Jan. 16, 2017), https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/16/national/politics-diplomacy/japan- u-s-sign-deal-clarifying-civilian-protection-sofa/. 224 See Mie, supra note 202. 225 See 2017 SOFA Supplemental Agreement, supra note 27; see also Ayako Mie, Japan and U.S. Sign Deal Clarifying Civilian Protection Under SOFA (Jan. 16, 2017), JAPAN TIMES, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/16/national/politics- diplomacy/japan-u-s-sign-deal-clarifying-civilian-protection-sofa/. 46 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2 contractors.226 This data set establishes a baseline for the U.S. and Japanese governments to identify patterns of crimes and pursue joint remedies to deter future crimes. B. Due Process Concerns for U.S. Servicemen Stationed Overseas The U.S. policy of maximization is a fundamental tenant for its application of SOFA provisions determining criminal jurisdiction of U.S. military personnel, civilian components, contractors, and their dependents.227 In Japan, the SOFA is viewed as a one-sided treaty that enables U.S. troops to commit crimes against local host communities without any real threat of punishment.228 However, from the perspective of U.S. officials, SOFA provides necessary protections for U.S. service personnel stationed in Japan to conduct routing military operations without fear of incurring criminal liability in foreign jurisdictions in host countries. The SOFA exists to provide a reliable and predictable legal framework for U.S. troops stationed in over 1,000 military installations worldwide.229 For U.S. troops stationed in Okinawa, the SOFA provides an important legal framework to regulate potential harm caused by U.S. troops because Japanese criminal system is different from the U.S. system.230 The legal framework established by the SOFA was “not [intended] to immunize a serviceperson from criminal sanctions in the host nation, but to protect individual rights and liberties. SOFAs are intended to strike a balance between the jurisdictional rights and demands of the sending and receiving states. There is a balancing of the justification of stationing troops abroad against the possibility of any deprivation of constitutionally protected rights when a serviceperson is subjected to foreign local law which does not conform to American law.”231 The SOFA is intended to protect troops from incurring criminal liability for the loss of lives or damage to property of the host community through high- risk military drills. By allowing troops who harm locals during the course of their official duties to avoid prosecution, the SOFAs are seen as

226 See Mie, supra note 202. 227 See Hill supra note 2 at 117. (“[T]he U.S. adheres to a philosophy of maximizing its jurisdictional rights” through its application of the SOFA’s criminal jurisdictional regime. The U.S. “vigorously pursue[s] waivers in cases where the receiving state is granted primary jurisdiction”). 228 See Hill, supra note 2 at118. 229 See Special Report, supra note 22. 230 See Kirk & Francis, supra note 130 at 256. 231 See Kirk & Francis, supra note 130 at 256 (quoting Norman at 722). 2020] Higa 47 protecting U.S. troops at the expense of local people.232 Punishments can be as light as relocating the convicted U.S. military service member to another post, or back to the United States.233 Although in principle, foreign criminal jurisdiction clauses (“FCJ”) embedded in the SOFA exists to provide servicemen “extraterritoriality” from being arrested and prosecuted by local law enforcement for crimes defined by the host government,234 American military officials have the reputation for using this legal protection to ignore investigators’ requests to hand over suspects. 235 Feminist allege that the SOFA extraterritoriality provision may preclude Japanese authorities from gaining custody of U.S. troops suspected of committing heinous crimes by providing U.S. authorities with jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed in the host country. 236 These situations contribute to the perception that the SOFA protects U.S. troops from being punished for crimes and that “the host country is left without any recourse to pursue in the event the U.S. elects not to prosecute or issues a lenient sentence.”237 U.S. military authorities continue to resist efforts to revise SOFA to relinquish jurisdiction over U.S. military personnel to Japanese criminal justice system, which could lead to a higher number of convictions due to the nearly 100% conviction rate in Japan. Although loopholes within the SOFA could afford U.S. servicemen protection at the expense of local host communities,238 a comprehensive revision providing exclusive jurisdiction of local crimes to the host country could possibly lead to over-convicting U.S. military personnel out of retribution for prior grievances related to negative impacts of military bases on local host communities. Since crimes against women are not separately reported under the current system, the data

232 See Kirk & Francis, supra note 130 at 256 (arguing the argument that People in host communities harbor deep resentment due to trivial and unfair sentences of U.S. troops who violated local laws). 233 See Kirk & Francis, supra note 130 at 256. Cf. Chris Coulson, Note, Criminal Conspiracy Law in Japan, 28 MICH. J. INT'L L. 863 (2007) (noting that the Japanese criminal justice system could impose more lenient sentencing in comparison to the American criminal justice system. Suspects convicted of rape could serve less than two to five year, and suspects convicted of murder and manslaughter could serve less than ten years). 234 See Hill, supra note 2 at 111-12. 235 See Kirk & Francis, supra note 130 at 256; Cf. Tyler J. Hill, Revision of the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA): Relinquishing U.S. Legal Authority in the Name of American Foreign Policy, 32 UCLA PAC. BASIN L.J. 105, 112-13 (2015). 236 See Kirk & Francis, supra note 130 at 256. 237 See Hill, supra note 2 at 111-12. 238 See Kirk & Francis, supra note 130 at 256. 48 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2 could lead to inaccurate assumptions regarding the seriousness of crimes against women unless disaggregated by type of crime.239 While both the U.S. and Japanese criminal justice systems provide punishment and retribution for crimes of rape, assault, and murder, they differ in the manner in which alleged perpetrators are prosecuted. The accused’s rights are fundamentally different according to the U.S. and Japanese criminal justice systems. The Japanese criminal justice system emphasizes confessions of guilt and allows for lengthy, unrestricted interrogation without a right to legal counsel during the investigative phase of the case.240 A confession of guilt and an indication of genuine remorse for disrupting the harmony of the community and shaming one’s superiors is thought of as a key step in the process of being re-integrated into the group.241 In contrast, the U.S. legal system emphasizes principles based on individual rights and due process. With the exception of particularly egregious incidents, sentences and punishments for U.S. military personnel convicted of rape, murder, and other crimes against host country citizens are not released during trials by U.S. military authorities.242 Gadson was accused of crimes covered under the SOFA’s concurrent jurisdiction because his acts were considered illegal under the laws of both the U.S. and Japan (i.e., rape, assault, murder).243 Under Japanese criminal law, it was possible for Gadson to face a more lenient sentence than if he were tried under U.S. jurisdiction for a crime committed against another American.244 The Naha District Court ultimately convicted Gadson for the murder, rape, and illegal disposal of Rina Shimabukuro’s body245 and was

239 See Takazato Suzuyo, Okinawan Women Demand U.S. Forces Out After Another Rape and Murder: Suspect an ex-Marine and U.S. Military Employee (Jun. 1, 2016), 14 ASIA-PACIFIC J. (2016); see also Jake Adelstein and Louis Krauss, The Suitcase Murder Tearing the U.S. and Japan Apart (Jun. 8, 2016), THE DAILY BEAST, https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/06/08/the-suitcase-murder-tearing-the-u-s- and-japan-apart. 240 See Kirk & Francis, supra note 130 at 256 (quoting Daniel H. Foote, arguing that the Japanese criminal justice system allows the state considerable discretion by giving authorities “free reign to investigate without regard for the duration and conditions of questioning.”). 241 See Kirk & Francis, supra note 130 at 256. 242 See Kirk & Francis, supra note 130 at 256.

243 See HILL, supra note 2 at 113.

244 See Chris Coulson, Note, Criminal Conspiracy Law in Japan, 28 MICH. J. INT'L L. 863 (2007) (noting that the Japanese criminal justice system could impose more lenient sentencing in comparison to the American criminal justice system. Suspects convicted of rape could serve less than two to five year, and suspects convicted of murder and manslaughter could serve less than ten years). 245 See Matthew M. Burke, Former US Base Worker Gets Life with Hard Labor for Slaying that Rocked Japan (Dec. 1, 2017), STARS AND STRIPES, https://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/former-us-base-worker-gets-life-with-hard-labor- 2020] Higa 49 given a life sentence 246 in Yokosuka prison in Kurihama. 247 Gadson appealed the court ruling of a live sentence and will remain in Yokosuka prison while he awaits trial.248 VI. CONCLUSION Shikinoo chui shiihii shiru kurasuru. Let’s live helping each other in this world. – Okinawan proverb

The 2017 SOFA supplemental agreement signifies the U.S. and Japan’s long-term commitments to peaceful co-existence between the U.S. military and Okinawan host communities as critical to the bilateral security alliance. This Article examined Rina Shimabukuro’s rape and murder by a U.S. military contractor as a case illustration calling for another dimension to the way in which “security” is perceived by shifting the focus of security studies away from the state and toward the individual. This human security framework focuses on the safety of host communities by including women’s issues, such as military prostitution and sexual violence against women, as components of national security. This human-centric security framework evaluates the impact of national security activities on individuals by analyzing structural violence, the environment, and respect for cultural identities. Critics of the 2017 SOFA supplemental agreement may argue that expanding Japanese criminal jurisdiction over U.S. troops and civilian components will interfere with the necessary independence to carry out military drills and operations. However, this view fails to take into consideration the long-held alliance built between the U.S. and Japan that should inherently rest upon trust to uphold the societal morals reflected in both criminal justice systems. The SOFA deviation clause maintains

for-slaying-that-rocked-japan-1.500314 (the trial court holding Gadson guilty of murder, rape resulting in death and the illegal disposal of a body in the slaying of Uruma office worker Rina Shimabukuro) [hereinafter Life Sentence]. 246 無期懲役 muki chōeki 247 See Allison Batdorff and Hana Kusumoto, Conditions Vary Widely for U.S. Prisoners in Japan (Apr. 17, 2007), STARS AND STRIPES, https://www.stripes.com/news/conditions-vary-widely-for-u-s-prisoners-in-japan-1.62878 (describing Yokosuka Prison in Kurihama as "the Fuchu hellhole" compared by prisoners to "WWII Nazi prison camp." Prisoners describe "a life of 'slave labor,' where he worked long hours in spaces with no heat or air conditioning while being fed barely enough fish and soup to stay alive"); LIFE SENTENCE, supra note 245; 248 See Ex-U.S. Base Worker Appeals Life Sentence for Killing Okinawa Woman, Japan Times (Dec. 12, 2017) https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/12/12/national/crime-legal/ex-u-s-base-worker- appeals-life-sentence-killing-okinawa-woman/ (reporting that Gadson appealed a court ruling sentencing him to life in prison for the murder of Rina Shimabukuro while attempting to rape her). 50 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal [Vol. 21:2 protections of due process rights for U.S. military personnel through concurrent jurisdiction over FCJ crimes and provides victims with legal remedies through Japan’s criminal justice system for crimes committed by U.S. military contractors while off-duty. Expanding Japan’s criminal jurisdiction through the SOFA’s deviation clause will further America’s goals to provide safety for women and children from harm both from abroad and within. The SOFA supplemental agreement provides a feasible alternative to complete troop withdrawal by providing the legal framework to unite the Okinawan host community and U.S. troops under one system of accountability. The SOFA supplemental agreement is a proactive measure facilitating co-existence of U.S. troops in Okinawa Prefecture, where ad hoc remedies through public apologies, curfews, bans on alcohol consumption, and restitution payments failed to create a culture of accountability. With the rise of regional threats from North Korea and China, the U.S. and Japanese central governments will maintain U.S. bases and personnel at their current levels and rely upon Okinawa Prefecture to continue hosting a majority of military installations and troops stationed in Japan. These conditions make it unlikely for withdrawal or relocation of U.S. bases and personnel. Thus, the co-existence of the U.S. military personnel with host communities in Okinawa remains critically important to regional geopolitical interests. The supplemental agreement symbolizes a mutual commitment by the U.S. and Japan to the safety of host communities and a willingness to revisit SOFA provisions in situations favorable to human security interests.