In Japan’s Okinawa, outrage mounts over government silence on sex crimes involving US troops

Protests have erupted across Okinawa following revelations that the Japanese government withheld information about US troops’ sexual assaults on local women, with residents expressing outrage and demanding greater accountability from Tokyo.

 There have been a series of demonstrations across the prefecture, home to around 30,000 US military personnel, and local residents have told This Week in Asia that they feel anger is reaching levels similar to those last seen in September 1995, when three US servicemen abducted and repeatedly raped an Okinawan girl aged 12.

That outrage saw hundreds of thousands taking part in protests but, two decades later, critics say they are fighting the same battles. This time, however, much of their fury is aimed at Tokyo.