The Japanese and U.S. governments officially agreed Tuesday to limit the extent to which U.S. military workers are protected under the Status of Forces Agreement, which gives the U.S. jurisdiction over American civilian workers who commit crimes while on duty.
The change in the implementation of SOFA was announced amid mounting protests among the people of Okinawa against the U.S. military presence in the prefecture, sparked most recently by the rape and murder of 20-year-old Rina Shimabukuro, allegedly by Kenneth Franklin Shinzato, a 32-year-old civilian employee at Kadena Air Base and a former U.S. Marine.
"Today's agreement is a further indication of the commitment of the U.S. government," Ambassador Caroline Kennedy said when she announced the agreement at the start of a meeting with Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and Lt. Gen. John Dolan.