Japan and US review rules for military personnel off base — Channel NewsAsia

Japan and the United States have begun consultations on rules of conduct for US military personnel outside bases after a US Marine was arrested on suspicion of murdering a 39-year-old woman in the city of Naha on Japan's Okinawa island. Channel NewsAsia reports.

Review of rules for military personnel

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on October 13 that officials are assessing whether the current restrictions for US service members are effective. According to him, talks with the United States will consider, among other things, patrols and curfew enforcement.

High-level consultations will concern the conduct of military personnel during off-duty hours, as well as the “liberty” policy regulating the private activities of US military personnel outside bases.

Restrictions and the parties' response

The current rules were updated in 2024 after a series of sexual assaults involving US military personnel in Okinawa. They prohibit US service members, among other things, from consuming alcohol in public places outside bases and from visiting bars between 01:00 and 05:00.

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Following the Marine's arrest, the US military introduced a two-day operational pause to reinforce discipline and standards, followed by a month-long curfew beginning at midnight.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that high-level and working-level consultations began last week. Motegi also held a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who expressed sympathy over the alleged crime and assured that the United States would cooperate with the investigation.

In Okinawa, which hosts most of the approximately 54,000 US military personnel in Japan, crimes involving US personnel have repeatedly sparked protests in the past.