[Opinion] U.S. military, Okinawa hold 1st safety forum after sex assault cases

U.S. military, Okinawa hold 1st safety forum after sex assault cases

Representatives of U.S. forces in Japan and Okinawa authorities hold their first meeting Friday under a new forum to discuss joint safety measures, following alleged sexual assault cases involving American service members in the southern island prefecture.

On the 9th, the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly (chairman: Kyotaka Nakagawa) unanimously passed both a statement of opinion and a resolution of protest regarding the non-consensual sexual intercourse incident by a U.S. Marine in Okinawa that occurred in March this year. In response to the series of incidents in the prefecture, the assembly pointed out that "various efforts to prevent recurrence are still insufficient, and it is difficult to say tha…