US Sailor Arrested for Murdering Japanese Woman
It is going to be interesting to see how the Japanese media and public react to this news of a tragic murder and robbery of a Japanese woman:
Japanese police arrested an American sailor Saturday on charges of robbing and beating a Japanese woman to death — a case likely to further stoke opposition to U.S. military presence in Japan.
William Oliver Reese, 21, was arrested after being transferred to police from the U.S. Navy base in Yokosuka, about 30 miles southwest of Tokyo, said police officials in Yokosuka and Kanagawa prefecture, both speaking on condition of anonymity citing police protocol.
The U.S. military previously agreed to hand over Reese, who police said admitted during questioning that he killed Yoshie Sato, 56, in Yokosuka on Tuesday. She was found beaten and unconscious that day and later died of internal bleeding.
Reese, who also has been identified in Japanese media, is accused of robbing Sato of $129.
I can’t understand what would make someone want to rob and beat an elderly woman for $129 dollars? This guy is scum and hopefully he rots in a Japanese jail. So far the Japanese media seems to be reporting fairly about this incident. I haven’t seen any statements like, this is the first time a US sailor has been arrested in Japan under the SOFA agreement stuff, which is a common statement used in Korean media reports when a crime involving a USFK servicemember happens. Mostly from what I can see the Japanese media is focusing on what effect this will have on the ongoing US base relocation negotiations with the Japanese government.
For more info on this, there is a great discussion going on at Coming Anarchy on this topic plus one sailor stationed in Japan sounds off on this tragic incident as well.
