US To Remove SOFA Status for Some Defense Contractors On Okinawa

Just another example of how Okinawa has turned into South Korea during the Roh Moo-hyun administration years of the early 2000’s:

The United States and Japan announced new procedures Tuesday aimed at ending status of forces agreement protection for some civilian base workers, two months after an alleged homicide by a contractor touched off massive protests targeted at the American military on Okinawa.

The new procedures would place civilians into four categories and exclude workers from SOFA who already have Japanese residency visas, according to a joint statement issued Tuesday evening.

It remained unclear after a news conference Tuesday whether the new procedures under negotiation would mean fewer SOFA-sponsored jobs; however, the statement calls on the U.S. and Japanese governments to clarify SOFA’s scope by “evaluating categories of positions eligible for status as members of the civilian component.”  [Stars & Stripes]

It looks like contractors are going to have to sit in on mandatory Powerpoint briefs now as well just like servicemembers.

Defense Department civilians and contractors in Japan are now expected to attend the same training events as their active-duty counterparts, Dolan said.

“For contractors and civilians under SOFA, I have added contract specifications that all workers will sign an acknowledgement of SOFA responsibilities, which can later be used, if needed, in any adjudication or incident review,” Dolan said in a prepared statement Tuesday.

Here is another example of the Japanese government putting unreasonable expectations on the US military in Japan:

Defense Minister Gen. Nakatani praised the U.S.-Japan security alliance but also called on the U.S. military Tuesday to “eradicate driving under the influence” of alcohol. Nakatani noted that an Air Force staff sergeant was arrested by Japanese police on DUI suspicion during curfew hours on Monday, despite recent restrictions on Okinawa.

Has Japan ended DUIs in their military?  Of course not because when it comes to large populations there is always going to be crime committed.  What is important is what is the trends of the number of crimes committed?  For US Forces on Okinawa statistics have shown that per capita they commit crime at a much lower rate than the surrounding population.