No rape! No base! No… sex shops?!?
Thought that might get you interested in this article! A story worth reporting from Okinawa today and which was featured on the Stars & Stripes website:
Okinawa sex shop made off-limits
By David Allen, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Saturday, March 22, 2008
OKINAWA CITY: A sex shop in one of this cityfs gred light districtsh has been declared off-limits for all personnel attached to the III Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Corps Bases Japan.
The shop is called by the names gShampooh and gDianah and was in the news recently during the trial of a 22-year-old Air Force dependent who admitted he beat and raped a 22-year-old Japanese woman there Oct. 1.
gShampoo, located at 1-20-15 Misato, Okinawa City, Okinawa, Japan, is off-limits to all Status of Forces Agreement personnel attached to or accompanying III Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Corps Bases Japan personnel,h the order by Lt. Gen. Richard Zilmer states. gThis includes all military members, civilian personnel (National Security Personnel System and contractor), and all dependents.h
Kevin Parks, the defendant in the rape case, pleaded guilty to rape involving an injury and faces a sentence of five years to life at hard labor in a Japanese prison. His defense is to present evidence during a hearing Monday in mitigation for sentencing, contending that Parks was mentally impaired.
During previous hearings Parks said he heard the devilfs voice in his head telling him to rape and kill the woman, but then heard the voice of God intervene to spare her life. He admitted that he hit the woman in the face with a beer bottle, punched her several times and then raped her.
The Marine order does not mention the Parks case by name.
gMarine Corps Bases Japan received credible information that eShampoof promulgates illicit sexual activity,h Zilmerfs order states. gSuch activities constitute a threat to the health, safety, and welfare of SOFA personnel.h
The shop is in a run-down section of Okinawa City that is home to dozens of small bars, called gSnacks.h At noon Thursday several cabs maneuvered through the narrow streets delivering customers to the few open shops, where women in tight clothes and heavy makeup posed in windows and doorways.
Many of the shops had English-language signs in the windows that read gSorry, Japanese Only.h
Zilmer stressed that the order was gpunitive in nature,h meaning military members violating the order could receive punishment under the Uniform Code of military Justice and civilians could face being barred from the bases or be forced to return to the U.S. It remains in effect indefinitely.
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Now first of all, is this shop called Shampoo or Diana? It’s not as if those words are easily mistaken in the English vocabulary! Unless it’s the even more cryptic Shampoo Diana, or Diana Shampoo. But regardless, it seems that this place has been made off-limits to SOFA status personnel in Okinawa, and even more shops in that seedy area are putting up the “No Foreigners” sign. With that in mind I’m considering rocking over there and seeing if they are classing all foreigners as military. I can actually envisage the ensuing conversation:
Store clerk: “No military. (under her breath, “Go home!”)
Me: “Calm down, and stop wielding that sex toy rather threateningly in my direction. I’m not military, see (gets out Alien Registration card as proof).
SC: “No! No foreigners. Can’t speak English”
Me: “Your sign outside saying “No foreigners allowed” is in perfect English”
SC: Ahhh…
Anyway, that’s been added to the list of forbidden places. Does seem a little strange when the two most well-known red-light districts in Okinawa are still fine to frequent, alongside the “massage” parlours which are built up around the US bases in the centre of the island.
The second part of this article is more important though, and does deserve its own story in my opinion. This guy (Parks), for a start, sounds like he has some serious issues inside and needs help in dealing with them. Mentally impaired or not, there really is no excuse for smashing a woman’s head with a beer bottle and then raping her. I think everyone will join me in saying I hope he gets the most severe sentence possible. Society, whether it be in Okinawa or the USA, doesn’t need anyone who would do something like that.
or Discuss this Article
I agree I hope that guy gets the most severe sentence possible due to violent nature of his crime. I hope that woman is doing ok. I really wish when these stories come out that they mention more on the victim’s behalf because her life is never going to be the same again. You find out what happens to the rapist but you don’t find out the victim’s condition. What’s great is that there’s a new documentary series on the Biography channel called “I Survived” which features people that have lived through series trauma and premieres March 24. Each episode contains at least one rape story and focuses on how the person survived. I think a lot of victims will find it highly cathartic and hope giving to hear about people going through this hell and triumphing in the end. If you want to see more about the show you can at http://www.bio.tv . Does this sound like something you would watch?
Well, personally I hope that if the guy is insane, he gets some help more than does some hard time. If the guy is just using that as a cover, he is still pretty sick in the head so I hope he gets hard time and some help. Most ’sane’ people wont beat some one and rape them, something more is going on there.
As for the snack bars, juicy clubs and sex shops. I can see closing down some of them and leaving some open. Its easier to police a few places if they are in a central location. We do attempt to go out and police our own on frequent occasions in plane clothes and this is easily done if we limit the places you can go to get busted.
Also its hard to ban all of the places, because I am sure behind closed doors some one is saying prostitution is better than rape. Both are illegal and both are not good… but one is clearly better than the other at least in the eyes of the law (as long as she is of age I guess).
so just one shop in that whole red light area is off limits eh? how about the whole other red light district in urasoe near the eagle amusement site? ha ha ha! it’s the enforcement politics who support, protect, and patronize those places more than anyone else! let them be in peace! i thought the “no foreigners” might have been for *ahem* “other” reasons (pinky wink) ha ha ha