Alleged rape case in Okinawa - minor update
Not so much more to report since my last update on this rape case, but I told you I would keep you informed of any more news on the story as it escalates seemingly out of control. One of the Japanese news sites is apparently reporting that this girl was picked up by the police last year for prostitution when she was 13. Being a child, they most likely just told her not to do it again. If this is true, then it doesn’t really do anything to help her case. Note that at the moment I am waiting to get a confirmed source for this story so it is just what a Japanese person has passed on to me. If it turns out that the story is false then I will post an immediate update and pass on the facts.
As the situation continues to unfold, more drastic measures are being taken by Okinawans. Every day since this alleged incident happened, the blacked out nationalistic vans have been driving around the Chatan area of Okinawa, with “protect our children, keep them inside after dark” being blasted out of megaphones (in Japanese, obviously).
Foreign Minister Itsunori Onodera has also been quoted as saying that the government should consider installing security cameras in “major areas” and that the idea “is worth considering if local municipalities agree to cooperate, although there is opposition due to privacy concerns”. Now this point is a complete knee-jerk reaction. So the idea seems to be that CCTV cameras will be installed around bases and places that the military frequent. Firstly, placing cameras near bases is definitely not going to work, as photography isn’t really allowed of the bases from what I understand. And secondly, I can’t really see this solving or preventing any of the major crimes. Let’s say CCTV cameras were installed in Okinawa City where this girl got onto the guy’s motorbike in this most recent case. People watching the cameras see this, but what does it tell them? The answer is nothing. They don’t know her age at that point or her motives for getting on his bike - she could have been his daughter for all they know. Admittedly that probably wouldn’t stop the police from pulling over a foreigner and questioning them, but that’s beside the point. And if something like this was to ever happen again (if it happened in this instance) then they are not going to commit a crime in one of the “major areas” in full view of CCTV. I think security cameras like this have their role in convicting people of crimes, and usually it is drunken behaviour (most commonly fights), but this is very rare in Japan. I’m sure cameras could be set up on trains in Tokyo which would make it easier to catch people groping schoolgirls and women during rush hour, but I sincerely don’t see that happening.
Will get a source for that initial update about the girl as soon as possible. Until then, stay tuned.
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Lots of camera crews outside Gate 2 street these days too, taking pics and interviewing people