New Okinawa minister says Japan-U.S. SOFA should be 're-examined' after Osprey crash
The new minister in charge of issues related to Okinawa said Tuesday that the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) should be "re-examined" in light of the fatal crash off Australia of an Okinawa-based U.S. Marine Corps Osprey aircraft, likely overstepping Tokyo's official line ...
Japan and U.S. sign deal clarifying civilian protection under SOFA
In a bid to reduce crimes committed by U.S. military base workers, Tokyo and Washington sign a supplementary agreement to limit and clarify the definition of the civilian component protected under the Status of Forces Agreement.
Okinawa anti-base faction's election win puts governor in the driver's seat
Voters gave Gov. Takeshi Onaga high marks in a prefectural assembly election widely viewed as a midterm report on his administration and policies related to U.S. military bases.
Calls to revise SOFA in wake of Okinawa murder unlikely to bear fruit
As a result of the recent murder of a 20-year-old woman in Okinawa, allegedly at the hands of a U.S. base worker and former marine, calls are once again growing for a revision to the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement, or SOFA. On Tuesday, Aiko ...
A Yokohama District Court's award of ¥7 billion in damages to 7,000 residents who live near Atsugi air base underscores the need for the government and the U.S. to get serious about finding ways to reduce the noise from military aircraft.
A meeting earlier this month among Japan-U.S. officials failed to address change for most of the core issues held in place by the half-century-old U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement.
In their talks Feb. 21, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and visiting U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney reaffirmed the "unwavering" Japan-U.S. security alliance. This raises a question: Why did Abe have to reaffirm an alliance that is said to have already benefited from the long ...
