Prosecutors in Okinawa on Friday indicted a civilian employee of the U.S. Air Force over a fatal vehicle collision in January in what is believed to be the first attempt to make use of a new bilateral agreement that conditionally gives Japan more jurisdiction over crimes involving nonmilitary personnel at U.S. bases.
The indictment without arrest of Rufus James Ramsey III, a 24-year-old employee of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, on charges of negligent driving resulting in death came after the Naha District Public Prosecutor's Office reversed an earlier decision not to pursue the case.
"It is good that the trial can be held in Japan," said Nobutaka Hiramitsu, deputy chief public prosecutor at the Naha office, noting it reflected the hopes of the victim's family.