While not widely reported, the recent brutal abduction, rape, and murder of a local woman in Okinawa allegedly by a U.S. civilian employee on Kadena Air Base (and former U.S. Marine) has also emotionally affected the American community in Okinawa, which cares about this prefecture and the overall U.S.-Japan-Okinawa relationship, and is deeply saddened.
The announcement of a variety of measures to address the incident and other matters is important, but without careful analysis and an accurate understanding of the situation in Okinawa, remedies by both the U.S. and Japanese governments may be superficial at best and may not get at the heart of the matter despite the best of intentions.
The U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Forces Japan, and U.S. government, like any large organization, as a whole tend to be too dysfunctional to properly handle alliance management. Disappointingly, the focus in military schools tends to be on understanding the enemy rather than addressing relations with alliance partners and friends. The failure to have true experts, with the language skills, historical knowledge, and networks in key positions also hurts us here and around the world. Furthermore, the regular rotation of personnel through billets and the "kotonakare shugi," or the avoid-trouble-at-any-cost mentality usually associated with Japanese bureaucrats is just as prevalent in the U.S. government.
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