Jon Mitchell writes about human rights issues on Okinawa. In 2015, he received the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan Freedom of the Press Award for Lifetime Achievement for his investigations into U.S. military contamination on Okinawa and other base-related problems.
For Jon Mitchell's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
The U.S. military justice system has faced criticism for allowing base commanders to decide whether to pursue charges against service members accused of serious crimes.
A series of incidents over the past few years have raised concerns the U.S. military on Okinawa is failing to securely manage its weapons in the prefecture.
Hiroji Yamashiro recounts six harsh months of POW-like detention he survived after being singled out for simple acts of civil disobedience recently in Okinawa.
May 3 marks the United Nations' World Press Freedom Day, an annual reminder of the necessity of unfettered media in the maintenance of healthy societies. Press Freedom in Contemporary Japan, Edited by Jeff Kingston.322 pages ROUTLEDGE, Nonfiction. This year the day is more important than ever as, ...
Controversial operations in which sailors pose online as underage girls lead to dozens of NCIS arrests.
Mixed messages and double standards regarding alcohol limits and penalties may be exacerbating the problem of DUI offenses committed off-base.
Details in a report recently obtained via the U.S. Freedom of Information Act suggest the U.S. Marine Corps misled the public about an incident involving an Osprey aircraft in 2014.
Since 2002, at least 270 environmental accidents on U.S. Marine Corps bases on Okinawa have contaminated land and local waterways but, until now, few of these incidents have been made public. Internal reports highlight serious flaws in training and suggest the lessons of past ...
A recently founded organization on Okinawa is attempting to hold to account the powers-that-be for the damage that military contamination is causing the island's environment. Established this year by Masami Kawamura, the Informed-Public Project (IPP) seeks to bring transparency to the often murky dealings ...
Under the slogan "Let the whole world move to the Uchina beat," Okinawa will host the prefecture's largest international event, the sixth Worldwide Uchinanchu Festival from Thursday, Oct. 27, to Sunday, Oct. 30. (Uchina means Okinawa in the island's language, while Uchinanchu means an ...
