Justice has been a long time coming for Masanori Yamazaki, whose common-law wife was murdered by a drunk U.S. sailor in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, 10 years ago, in an unprovoked assault.

Yamazaki, 68, is refusing a U.S. government offer to settle over the death of Yoshie Sato, taking a stand at what he perceives as injustices under the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement, the legal framework that sets out criminal procedures for U.S. military offenders in Japan.

As work on possible revision of the 56-year-old legal framework gets underway, Yamazaki's case highlights how hard it can be for victims of crimes committed by troops or U.S. civilian workers to obtain closure.