Japan, US patrol Okinawa streets after sexual assaults

US military personnel join Japanese officials and residents for a one-off joint nighttime patrol on the streets of Okinawa City, Okinawa prefecture late on April 18, 2025, in the first such joint operation since 1973, following sexual assault cases involving US servicemen. - AFP

OKINAWA: US soldiers joined Japanese officials and residents in Okinawa for a one-off joint nighttime patrol on Friday (April 18) following sexual assault cases involving American servicemen.

The United States has around 54,000 military personnel stationed in Japan, mostly on the southern island of Okinawa, and their behaviour has long angered locals.