U.S. troops stationed in Okinawa decide to extend curfew measures for one month

China News Service, Tokyo, November 7. According to Japan's "Yomiuri Shimbun" report on the 7th, the US military stationed in Okinawa decided to extend the curfew measures previously implemented on all US military personnel stationed in Okinawa for one month to December 7 due to US soldiers suspected of robbery and murder cases. The extension measures apply to low-ranking military personnel.

In early October this year, a Marine affiliated with the US military's Futenma base was arrested by the police on suspicion of robbing and killing a local woman in Okinawa. After the incident, the US military stationed in Okinawa announced a 30-day curfew starting from October 9.

According to the curfew regulations, all US military personnel stationed in Okinawa are not allowed to go out between 0:00 and 5:00 a.m. every day. However, in the early morning of October 31, when the curfew measures were in effect, a U.S. Marine was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.

In response, Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi stated on November 2 that he has asked the United States to strictly enforce military discipline, take effective measures to prevent similar incidents from happening again, and strictly enforce curfew regulations.

For a long time, crimes have occurred frequently among US troops stationed in Japan, including many vicious cases such as rape, murder, and robbery. According to Japan's "Red Flag Newspaper" citing data from the Japanese National Police Agency, from 1989 to May 2026, the Japanese police investigated and dealt with a total of 4,998 criminal cases involving US military personnel stationed in Japan and their families, of which 2,447 occurred in Okinawa Prefecture, accounting for 49% of the total.