Xinhua News Agency, Tokyo, October 11th: Question: A documentary raised questions: Who is the Japanese government protecting?
Xinhua News Agency reporters Li Ziyue and Yang Zhixiang
"The interests of the United States are being put ahead of the human rights of the Japanese and Japan's national sovereignty."
On the 10th, after the release of the documentary "300 Meters Over Tokyo", which focused on issues such as the low-altitude flights of US military helicopters stationed in Japan in central Tokyo, Hiroyuki Ohba, a reporter from Japan's Mainichi Shimbun who participated in the interview and production of the film, said this in an interview with a reporter from Xinhua News Agency in Tokyo.
The "300 meters" in the film's title corresponds to Japanese aviation regulations' requirements for safe flying heights in densely populated areas: in principle, aircraft must maintain a vertical distance of at least 300 meters from the highest surrounding obstacle. However, the "Special Aviation Law" enacted by Japan to implement the Japan-US Status Agreement excludes US military aircraft from this restriction.
"300 Meters Over Tokyo" cuts through the above-mentioned perspectives and tracks issues such as crimes committed by US military personnel, victims' rights protection, and the Japanese government's response.
Under the same sky, why are there different treatments? This issue sparked heated discussion at the post-screening exchange on the 10th - Who is the Japanese government protecting?
The Japan-U.S. Status Agreement was signed by the governments of Japan and the United States in 1960. It stipulates that if the U.S. military commits crimes while performing official duties, the U.S. has priority in trial; crimes committed outside official duties are generally tried first by Japan. However, if the suspect is under the control of the U.S., in principle, he will still be detained by the U.S. until prosecution by Japan. This means that once the US military personnel involved return to the US military base in Japan, it is entirely up to the US side to decide whether to hand them over to the Japanese police. With suspects under the protection of the United States, their cases are often reduced to minor issues.
In a post-screening exchange, Ohba said that the current status quo is that although the Japanese police can require suspects to be interrogated, if they cannot continue to control their personal freedom, the investigation will be restricted. Each interrogation requires coordination and time is limited. It is difficult for the outside world to know how the suspects are managed and treated inside the US military base.
Such incidents keep happening. On the 3rd of this month, a 39-year-old Japanese woman was murdered in a hotel in Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture. Devin Ballard, a 20-year-old Marine affiliated with the U.S. Army Futenma Base, is suspected of killing the woman and taking away her wallet and other items. Okinawa Prefecture police arrested Ballard on the 4th, but he denied committing the crime.
Okinawa Prefecture protested, demanding that effective measures be taken to prevent similar cases from happening and that the Japan-US status agreement be fundamentally revised. However, at the central government level, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and other officials have limited their statements to “extreme regret,” “expressing protest,” and “demanding full cooperation with the investigation to prevent recurrence.” So far, they have not mentioned the issue of revising the Japan-US status agreement.
Statistics from Okinawa Prefecture show that from 1972 to 2025, there were more than 6,400 criminal cases committed by U.S. military soldiers and military dependents, and the number of cases involving U.S. military-related personnel has been on the rise in recent years. Among these cases, there are many serious cases that shocked Japanese society: in 1995, three US military personnel stationed in Okinawa kidnapped and raped a 12-year-old girl; in 2016, a US military related personnel killed a 20-year-old Okinawa woman and dumped her body; in 2023, a US military soldier stationed in Okinawa abducted and sexually assaulted a girl under the age of 16...
"I'm really angry because this kind of incident has never disappeared." Audience Takahashi Ai told reporters. She said that she recently participated in a protest against the murder of Okinawa women in front of the U.S. Embassy in Japan. However, there was lively music coming from the U.S. Embassy where a party was being held at the time.
"This stark contrast really makes me feel very uncomfortable." Ai Takahashi said.
A chapter in the documentary titled "Who is Letting the Prisoners Escape" reveals another acute issue: After US military personnel were suspected of serious crimes, the Japanese government failed to notify them in time, and the public did not learn about it until the media reported it.
"Faced with so many problems, we always choose to cover them up, which is problematic in itself." A male audience member in his 60s told reporters at the exchange site.
Ohba also recalled during the exchange that when he was investigating noise issues around US military helicopter facilities, he found that it was very difficult to find Japanese residents who were willing to express their opinions publicly. Even if some people are strongly dissatisfied with this, they will still feel "scared" when facing interviews. Some people are worried that they will be investigated after publicly criticizing the US military. Some people are worried that their children's future employment may be affected...
Today, more than 80 years after the war, the "privilege" of the US military stationed in Japan still profoundly affects the lives of the Japanese people. To change this situation, Japan may still have a long way to go.
