Japan will revive a joint police patrol with US military personnel next week in the southern Okinawa province, amid growing concern about sexual assault cases involving American troops, media reports said Thursday.
The patrols, the first of its kind in the province since 1974, will take place in busy nightlife areas from evening until early morning to prevent US soldiers from staying out all night, according to Kyodo News.
Okinawa hosts 31 US-exclusive military facilities, accounting for 70.3% of such sites in Japan by land area. The island is home to roughly half of the 50,000 US troops deployed in the country under a security pact.
There have been numerous sexual assault cases involving US service members in Japan, prompting public outrage and renewed calls for stricter oversight.
Japanese police have been hesitant in the past to participate in joint patrols due to restrictions under the Japan-US Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which stipulates that American personnel accused of crimes cannot be detained unless caught in the act or until Japan formally files charges.
The revival of the patrols was approved following a meeting Wednesday between US military officials, Okinawa police and representatives from Japan's foreign and defense ministries.
Hundreds of residents held demonstrations in Okinawa in December to demand an apology from the US military after a service member was implicated in a sexual assault case.
There were 118 criminal cases involving US military personnel in Japan in 2023, according to official figures. Seventy-two of those cases, accounting for 61%, occurred in Okinawa.
