Japan

Japan Raises Protests with US After Marine Held in Okinawa Killing

Can a formal cooperation rebuild diplomatic trust or must the U.S. finally implement greater discipline of its soldiers abroad?

Published 5 days ago

Japan Raises Protests with US After Marine Held in Okinawa Killing

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Above: Osprey military transport aircraft on the tarmac at the U.S. base in Okinawa, Japan, on Nov. 25, 2023. Image credit: Feng Wuyong/Xinhua/Getty Images

The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

A formal protest at the highest level is exactly the right response when an allied force's member is accused of something this brutal. The alliance holds because Washington answers promptly, cooperates fully and tightens discipline when asked. Swift diplomatic pressure plus full investigative cooperation is how trust gets rebuilt, not by letting basing plans quietly roll on as if nothing happened.

Newsweek

George Glass on X The New York Times

Establishment-critical narrative

Polite protests and promises of better training have been offered after every one of these cases, yet the pattern keeps repeating. Okinawans carry the weight of the bulk of the bases while being told discipline measures work, when the record shows those measures are failing completely. Pushing an even deeper military buildout on the same islands only stacks more risk on a population already bearing heightened risk due to the presence of U.S. forces.

The Japan Times

Nury Vittachi on X NHK