TOKYO (Agencies): Japan asked the US to thoroughly enforce discipline among military personnel in the country after a US Marine in Okinawa prefecture was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol during curfew hours, imposed following a murder case involving another Marine, the top spokesman said on Nov 2.
Local media reported that Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a press conference that Tokyo urged Washington to take preventive measures following the “regrettable” incident on Oct 31 in the southern island prefecture, home to many US military bases.
On Oct 31, Kalvin Montoya Cardona was arrested after being caught with a blood-alcohol content twice the legal limit at around 12.25am in the city of Okinawa, according to local police, said Kyodo News.
The latest incident “causes significant concern among local residents and is unacceptable”, said Kihara, adding that the government has conveyed its “regret” to the US at a senior level.
Earlier on Nov 2, Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters that he wants the US to “take seriously” the fact that the incident occurred despite the curfew period, which started on Oct 9 in response to the arrest on Oct 4 of Devin Ballard.
Ballard was subsequently indicted on charges of robbing and murdering a local woman in Naha, the capital of Okinawa.
Japan has also requested the US to take “effective preventive” measures and ensure that the curfew hours are strictly implemented, Koizumi said, referring to the midnight-to-5am curfew imposed during a 30-day “period of reflection”.
Koizumi stressed that preventive measures are being discussed in bilateral high-level consultations following the case involving Ballard.
“We want to reach conclusions as early as possible, announce the measures and put them into practice,” he said.
Kihara also said that the Okinawa Policy Council, a joint body of the central and Okinawa governments, will hold a meeting on Nov 6 to discuss “basic policies” related to the prefecture. It will be the council’s first meeting since 2013.- Agencies
