Conan the praying dog!
You know my blog and what sort of content that I talk about, even though it has changed its direction a little in recent months. But allow me to digress for just a small post.
Yahoo! News were doing a photo-feature entitled “Dogs at Work and Play“. Nothing to see there, except for a dog from Okinawa that is praying at a temple in Naha! It’s all very cute so I thought I’d pass on these photos of Conan the chihuahua and Buddhist priest, Joei Yoshikuni, at the Jigenin temple in Naha. Thanks to Teresa for making me aware of these pics.
US military survey results - how many people live off base
You might recall that last month Japan’s Ministry of Defence conducted a survey of SOFA status personnel in Japan, and how many lived off base. Well the preliminary results were out quickly, but the full report has been published today, and Stars & Stripes has a very good writeup about it:
How many USFJ personnel live on base?
By Travis J. Tritten Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Wednesday, March 26, 2008
About 75 percent of United States servicemembers and civilians in Japan lived on military installations last year, according to Japanfs Ministry of Defense.
That number was higher ? 77 percent living on bases ? in Okinawa prefecture, where recent alleged crimes by servicemembers have caused some Japanese politicians to question the number of Americans living off base.
The U.S. militaryfs goal is to provide on-base housing for about 80 percent of those living in Japan under the Status of Forces Agreement, U.S. Forces Japan said.
Half of the 10 base residential areas in Okinawa with a population of at least 800 SOFA-status residents were at or above that goal last year, the Ministry of Defense reported.
On mainland Japan, just one of five prefectures with a U.S. military presence made the 80 percent goal. Three prefectures came within 8 percent of the goal, according to the defense ministry. The housing figures were collected in March 2007.
gWe are in constant coordination with the government of Japan to acquire more base housing,h said Col. Michael Presnell, director of logistics and installations for USFJ.
In February, Japanese delegates from Okinawa filed a protest with USFJ urging the military to move more servicemembers onto bases following the alleged rape that month of a 14-year-old girl by a Marine. Japanese investigators decided not to press charges, but the Marine remains in U.S. military custody.
The Marine was an off-base resident and gthe fact that servicemembers live in local communities has never been acknowledged before as a problem,h said Shusei Arakawa, a member of the Okinawa Prefectural Assemblyfs Special Committee on Military Affairs and former Okinawa City mayor.
It is also a waste if on-base housing built with Japanese taxpayersf money remains vacant, Arakawa said.
USFJ tries to fill 90 percent of its on-base housing units, though that figure fluctuates depending on maintenance and changing base populations, Presnell said.
Even environmental factors such as humidity can affect the percentage of occupied base housing. In Okinawa, 248 units are on hold due to heat and humidity issues, Presnell said.
Overall, there are many factors that determine where SOFA-status residents live including available housing units and land, Japan and U.S. construction funding and residentsf personal choices.
For example, Sasebo Naval Base has the lowest percentage of SOFA residents living on base of any area in Japan. Only 55 percent have on-base housing, according to the Japanese government.
But over 90 percent of its on-base housing units are occupied, Presnell said.
The Sasebo facility is squeezed by geography and has little room to grow. Sasebo cityfs bustling downtown curves around the small main base and the largest concentration of housing, the Hario housing facility, is a 30-minute drive to the south.
The lack of space for new housing is one reason 350 to 400 families live off base in Sasebo communities.
Meanwhile, one of Sasebofs largest renovation projects ever is under way and will upgrade hundreds of its existing housing units, which are beginning to age.
On-base occupancy gdepends what is available and what we can build. Sasebo is limited in space,h said Donald Chang, an engineer with USFJ who negotiates with the Japanese government over housing needs.
Car accident in Okinawa: alcohol not a factor?
An update from yesterday’s story about the fatal road accident in Okinawa, in which a 16/17-year old was killed. Stars & Stripes is reporting on the story today and they are stating that ALCOHOL WAS NOT A FACTOR. This is in contradiction to reports that came out initially. Here is a gist of the Stars & Stripes article:
A 22yr old driving in front, was struck from behind by the Toyota Celica driven by 20yr old James Yeakey, and then Yeakey’s car swerved over median into oncoming lane, where it was T-boned by a 2-ton truck driven by the 30yr old Japanese male. The Japanese male suffered minor finger injuries. 22yr old driving in front of Yeakey was uninjured.
Yeakey, a unemployed former base employee, and another 17yr old back seat passenger were treated for bruises. 17yr old John Hall, son of a civilian base employee was killed, died at 2:41am. The crash happened in the early hours of Sunday at 1:10am.
A couple of people are now asking who Yeakey’s father is, mainly enquiring as to whether he’s high ranking in the military. This is only speculation, but they are saying that maybe if their are high up then pressure may have been placed in order to remove the alcohol charge from the incident. The article did note that “speed may be a factor”, which doesn’t come as a surprise if you see a picture of one of the cars involved in the accident.
Marine arrested in Okinawa for attacking police, and a couple of updates
If there was ever a picture/animation to describe this story coming to light at this time, it would be this one 
on the right. Yup - it seems like someone really doesn’t want the military’s period of reflection to come to an end, and yet another incident has happened with the Marines. This story comes from the Mainichi:
U.S. Marine NCO arrested for attacking Okinawa police officers
NAHA — A U.S. Marine Corps non-commissioned officer (NCO) who attacked two police officers trying to stop him from approaching his terrified estranged wife has been arrested, police said.
Aaron Charlie Sansaricq, 26, the NCO stationed at the U.S. Marine Corps’ Camp Zukeran (Camp Foster) in the central part of Okinawa Prefecture, was arrested for obstructing a public officer.
The Marine is currently exercising his right to remain silent and refuses to talk to the police.
Police said Sansaricq’s estranged wife consulted with officers at a police box on Thursday, telling them she feared for her safety after her husband told her he planned to go and see her the next day.
On Friday, a 45-year-old Okinawa Prefectural Police sergeant and 28-year-old senior police officer accompanied the estranged wife at her home in Naha.
Police said Sansaricq started shouting and screaming at his wife and when the officers prepared to intervene, he threw them to the ground, causing scratches to the hands of both policemen.
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Fatal drunk driving accident in Okinawa; anti-US protest update
Sad news this morning as a report is coming out that one person has been killed and another in critical condition after a drink driving incident in Okinawa. On Saturday night at around 2:30am a 20 year old American (not confirmed if he has any connections with the military or not) was driving drunk, and there was also a 16-year old American in the car with him. That car proceeded to hit a Japanese person. The details are still sketchy at this point, but the 16-year old in the car has died and the driver is in critical condition. No word on the Japanese person involved yet.
Sad sad story, that. God knows what goes through anyone’s head when they contemplate drinking and driving. It’s not really a hard thing to do, not drinking alcohol if you drive. Not a rare occurrence though, with Okinawa being the drink driving capital of Japan. If I have the car with me I won’t even have a sip of alcohol. Condolences to the family of the 16-year old involved.
On another note, an anti-US protest took place yesterday in Chatan. Before the demonstration, protesters were claiming over 6,000 people would be turning up for the event. From the TV pictures and what people have reported, the actual figure was a couple of hundred. Maybe the bad weather made people realise they don’t like the US enough for them to get wet! Am wondering if Okinawa’s youth will get blamed again for not caring and understanding why the US military should be made to leave Japan.