YOKOSUKA (Kyodo) At least 12 U.S. service members have deserted in Kanagawa, Nagasaki and Okinawa prefectures since May 2008 and six remain unaccounted-for, it was discovered Thursday from information gathered from U.S. forces, according to the Foreign Ministry and local-level authorities.
Japan and the United States agreed in May 2008 that Japanese authorities would detain U.S. deserters at the request of the U.S.
While the latest finding shows finding deserters isn't easy, the information has not been disclosed to the public.
From September 2008 to June, Japanese authorities received requests to detain seven deserters from Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture, of whom five have been caught and the remaining two are still at large.
At Sasebo base in Nagasaki, three service members have been unaccounted-for since 2008, while in Okinawa, two are believed to have deserted last October, of whom one was captured in February.
Under the bilateral agreement, the U.S. provides information on deserters to the Japanese and requests prefectural police forces to detain them. Once they are in custody, deserters are turned over to the U.S.
Information on deserters is shared among ministries and agencies as well as local authorities so they can work to confirm their whereabouts and prevent them from leaving the country, but the information is not disclosed to local residents.