Opinions

Okinawa’s Lessons For Sweden And Finland

In December 2023, Sweden and the US signed a bilateral military agreement, a so-called Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA), which means that the US gets access to 17 Swedish bases. The agreement regulates issues such as the legal status of the US forces, access to Swedish military bases and the storage of combat vehicles, ammunition and weapon systems in Sweden. The agreement was approved by the Riksdag on 18 June and entered into force on 15 August 2024.

Questions are also being raised about what the agreement may actually mean for Sweden and Swedish residents, for example regarding the fact that the American soldiers who are in Sweden must obey American laws.

American and Swedish legislation differ in many ways, for example when it comes to laws about buying sex and rape. With regard to immunity, the agreement states that Sweden gives the USA an exemption from Swedish law, but that Sweden can also withdraw the exemption in special cases. However, it is not clear what might constitute such a case. Foreign bases in other countries have been shown to mean increased insecurity through sexual violence, exploitation and trafficking.

A bilateral defense cooperation agreement has also been negotiated between Finland and the United States. Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen and US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken signed the agreement on 18 December 2023 in Washington DC. According to the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the agreement strengthens Finland's security and contributes to the implementation of the obligations of NATO membership and improves the conditions for US support to Finland, strengthening Finland's security also under the conditions of NATO membership.

With the agreement, Finland opens 15 of its military sites for possible use by US troops. US defense equipment, supplies, material and soldiers can be imported to Finland. The agreement entered into force on September 1, 2024.

The military areas will also have facilities that can only be accessed by the United States. The agreement creates a framework for US operations and a more permanent presence.

Finnish Parliament has approved the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) between Finland and the United States on July 1, 2024.

The next day, July 2, 2024, mass protests began in Japan against the American bases on Okinawa and the ongoing mass rapes of local women, including babies and little girls, by American soldiers on the island since 1945. The Okinawa people have a tragic story to tell new NATO countries that are planning to host American soldiers.

Don't Hide the U.S. Military Sexual Assault Incident in Okinawa! Angry women protest in front of the Foreign Ministry in Tokio. The 350 protesters are victims of sexual assault by U.S. troops, who the Japanese government says are in Okinawa to protect the country. July 3, 2024. Source: S-Newscommons

On July 2, 2024, 350 victims of sexual assault and their supporters protested in front of the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo after another case of a U.S. soldier raping an underage girl in Okinawa was made public. Japanese authorities, who have covered up similar incidents of sexual assault for years, sometimes with the subsequent murder of the victim by U.S. soldiers, once again tried to hide the truth about the incident that took place in December 2023. An American soldier was accused of luring a girl to an Okinawa Prefectural park, driving her to his home, and raping her despite knowing she was under 16. On March 11, Okinawa Prefectural Police filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office, and on March 27, the Naha District Public Prosecutor's Office filed a complaint. The American soldier was charged with kidnapping for indecent purposes and sexual intercourse without consent.

Protesters hold a long list of sexual assaults committed by U.S. troops in Okinawa since 1945 in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. July 3, 2024. Source: S-Newscommons

The protest was called for by the Women's War and Peace Museum (WAM), the Asian Women's Resource Center (AJWRC), and the Women's Democratic Club Femin. Over the course of three days, 120 organizations from across the country expressed their desire to join the protest.

Stop Violence Against Women! Let's Destroy the (American) Base (on Okinawa)! Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. July 3, 2024. Source: S-newscommons

After the indictment, the Japanese Foreign Ministry filed a complaint with the US Ambassador to Japan Emanuel, but did not share the information with Okinawa Prefecture until June 25. In addition, the US vassal country's Foreign Ministry, in its usual manner, said that it "could not say" when the Foreign Ministry became aware of the incident. The reason for concealing the information from the public was the upcoming elections in Okinawa, which is a severe violation of democratic norms by the Japanese authorities.

At the meeting, House of Councillors member Mizuho Fukushima said that he had filed a letter of protest to the Foreign Ministry and the Defense Ministry on June 26:

The Foreign Ministry knew about the indictment. However, they did not share the information with the prefecture until after the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly election (June 16) and Memorial Day (June 23).

Suzuyo Takasato of the Women's Association Against (American) Military Bases said by telephone:

"After the indictment, the perpetrator was released on bail. Where is the perpetrator now? He lived in a house outside the base, but is now hiding inside the base."

"The official reason for not releasing the information was to 'protect the woman's privacy."

So when violence occurs, instead of condemning the perpetrator, they protect the perpetrator under the guise of protecting the victim.

At the end of the rally, the "Urgent Statement of Protest against Sexual Abuse and Concealment by U.S. Forces in Okinawa" was read:

We strongly protest the U.S. military and the Japanese government for repeatedly allowing sexual violence by U.S. soldiers.

We strongly object to the use of a victim's privacy as an excuse to conceal information. Sharing information with the public while respecting the privacy of victims is not only possible, but necessary to eradicate all forms of sexual and gender-based violence.

Among the various human rights violations committed by U.S. military base personnel, sexual violence tends to go unnoticed due to the stigmatization of victims and a justice system that ignores sexual violence. Despite efforts by Okinawa feminist organizations to expose hidden harms, as well as efforts by many people to establish a justice system that protects the rights of all victims of sexual violence, the government has failed to protect the privacy of victims and necessary information is not made public. We request an investigation not only in Okinawa Prefecture but in all areas where bases are located to determine why there was a delay in reporting the incident to Okinawa Prefecture and what is behind the police cover-up.

The Japanese government, especially the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, advocates for the active promotion of peace and women’s security based on UN Security Council resolutions. Democratic and transparent decision-making processes are essential for women’s equal participation in security.

We recognize that military national security is built on gender discrimination, violence, and colonialism, and we must ensure that the voices of citizens, especially those directly affected, are heard in decisions about peace and security.

We strongly protest the Japanese and US governments who, by prioritizing national security, have made sexual and gender-based violence committed by (US) military personnel invisible and underestimated.

We will not tolerate sexual violence of any kind and stand in solidarity with the people of Okinawa who are fighting against military bases.

Akiko Matsuo of Etcetra Books spoke at the protest. Source: S-Newscommons

The criminal code was revised in 2017 and 2023. Sexual intercourse without consent became a crime, and the age of consent was raised from 13 to 16. As someone who had previously called for flower demonstrations, I prayed for this amendment with all my heart. Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. July 3, 2024.

In Okinawa, even when children are victims of sexual abuse, the fact itself is covered up by the authorities. Why have victims of sexual abuse from Hokkaido to Okinawa increased their protests in the past few years?

My friends in Okinawa who are holding flower demonstrations said they will continue to protest on the streets until sexual abuse in Okinawa stops. I am so glad that we were able to come together in Tokyo and fight back.

A country should not hide sexual violence that happened because of rules imposed by another country (USA)! Don't pretend that sexual violence never happened! I think we can do something too. Let's raise our voices together.

Hatsuko Aoki from the Kanto Block of the Okinawa Hitotsubo Anti-War Landowners Association. Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. July 3, 2024. Source: S-Newscommons

More than 70% of the US military bases in Japan are located in Okinawa. As long as there are US military bases, sexual violence will not disappear. The Japanese government supports the US military and is on the side of oppressing the Okinawan people. The Japanese Foreign Ministry is not the only one hiding this. Let's raise our voices and stop the Japanese government from oppressing Okinawa!

Akiko Yamada of Book and Cafe Sappho. Source: S-Newscommons

In October 2012, two American soldiers raped a woman in Okinawa. On October 31, Hironori Teruya, then a member of the House of Representatives, sent an inquiry to the Japanese government about sexual violence and crimes against women that had occurred in Okinawa since 1972. We asked the government to clarify the number of crimes that the Okinawa Prefectural Police had recognized as cases of sexual violence, in which American soldiers and their family members were the perpetrators, and Okinawan women, including children, were the victims.

The Noda (Yoshihiko) government reported that it knew of 48 cases of sexual violence against Japanese women and children by American soldiers in Okinawa from 1989 to 2011, an average of more than two cases per year. In 23 years, there were only three years without a registered rape case. I believe this is related to the Status of Forces Agreement between Japan and the United States, which states that the United States has jurisdiction over crimes committed by American troops, and the colonial status of Japan, which places 70% of its bases on Okinawa. Doesn't this agreement trample on the dignity of the Okinawan people?

Hironori Teruya's request states: "The citizens of the prefecture are at the height of their concerns over the repeated cases of sexual violence committed by American soldiers."

In order to create a society free of sexual violence, we must never forget the hardships of Okinawa, continue to resist fascism and colonialism that trample on the human rights of our people, and express our anger together with the Okinawan people.

Yasuko Jinnai, National Federation of Feminist Parliamentarians (former Hachioji City Council member, Tokyo). Source: S-Newscommons

In 2006, there was a sexual assault incident in which a woman was killed. At that time, the Hachioji City Council submitted a written statement of protest. Similar opinions were voiced one after another by local governments across the country. There were calls for revision of the Japan-US Status of Forces Agreement.

I can only assume that the government hid the rape incident (of a minor) this time as well, so that there would be no more calls for revision of the agreement. We must work in solidarity with Okinawa to change the situation in which American soldiers sexually assault women, and 70% of the American military in Japan is stationed in Okinawa.

Mayumi Yawata from “Praise the Brave”. Source: S-Newscommons

I was a victim of sexual assault about 15 years ago. I currently work to promote trauma-informed care with the goal of creating a survivor-friendly society. Sexual assault is unacceptable, no matter how it is committed. After the sexual assault, I lost everything: my home, my job, my health, and the trust of others. At one point, I definitely came close to death. Sexual assault leaves serious scars. Even now, I have not fully recovered and am still undergoing treatment for PTSD.

Noriko Kyogoku from the Bus Stop Association. Source: S-Newscommons

I live in Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture. There is a U.S. Army and Self-Defense Forces base here.

We founded the Bus Stop Association and have been holding sit-ins every Wednesday and petitioning once a month for the past 19 years. All of our members are connected to Okinawa and are involved in the anti-war and anti-sexual violence movements.

In 2016, I was also an active member of a group called “NO BASE. STOP Sexual Violence – We Can’t Keep Silent.” There was a horrible incident in Onna Village, Okinawa where a woman was raped and murdered, and I was so outraged that I did a stand-up performance with my friends in Shinjuku. I made a butterfly banner to mourn the victims of Okinawa and also created a zine to express this pain in print. At the very end of the magazine, I published a list of victims of sexual violence in Okinawa since 1945, compiled by Suzuyo Takasato and others. When unfolded, it is almost 2 meters long.

Katherine Jane Fisher from Warriors Japan. Source: S-Newscommons

I came to Japan 40 years ago. I was raped by an American soldier 22 years ago. My husband is Okinawan and my children are Okinawan.

I wrote down the damage done by American soldiers since 1945. For example, at the very beginning, there was an episode where the wife was being raped and the husband was screaming, “Please stop!” There are children who were kidnapped and raped by American soldiers when they were only 6 years old.I have not been able to return to Australia. For 22 years, I have worked hard in Okinawa to revise the Status of Forces Agreement between Japan and the United States. I would like to see Article 16 changed. American soldiers must also abide by Japanese law.

Whose side is the Japanese government on: the side of the victims or the perpetrators?

There have never been any foreign troops in Sweden, the Wehrmacht was stationed in Finland from September 1940 until September 1944 and withdrew to Norway by the end of 1944, and Soviet troops were stationed on the Hanko Peninsula in 1940–1941 and in Porkkala in 1944–1956.

True sovereignty, among other things, means the absence of foreign troops on the territory of a sovereign state. The loss of sovereignty by Sweden and Finland with the deployment of American troops will not ensure their external security given the power of modern weapons, but, on the contrary, will significantly increase threats to internal security, including the rape of local women and, possibly, the murder of some of them.

The lesson of Japan, and especially Okinawa, is harsh: where American troops are stationed, crimes against the person, including fights, robberies, murders and rapes, are as inevitable as the impossibility of punishing criminals in military uniform under the laws of a country that has renounced its sovereignty.

America as a country is woven from violence: state violence, gun-related violence including mass shootings of its own citizens by criminals, sexual violence, an extremely sexualized mass culture, mass drug and alcohol addiction of the population and the American army, widespread rape in the American army and the mass distribution of pornography form a destructive type of personality, especially among the lower class from which the bulk of American soldiers are recruited.

The dominant ideology of the state, based on the idea of the American exceptionalism, closely related to the Nazi idea of "Germany above all", entails impunity for criminals who belong to the exceptional nation. Countries that have been deprived of their sovereignty by force, like Japan, or voluntarily, like Sweden and Finland, can only watch helplessly as the laws of their country are trampled upon by the soldiers from the land of the "Shining City on a Hill".

American soldiers will soon be stationed in Sweden and Finland. The authorities of these countries, the secret services, public and political organizations should be prepared for a new reality – the appearance of armed people from another country who perform violence of any kind, especially the rape of women and underage girls. Perhaps for the record holder in rape in Europe, Sweden, this will be almost normal, but for Finland it will be a shock.

Japan has never been subjected to a military threat since 1945 until today, and during this time its American "defenders" have committed thousands of common crimes, as well as thousands of rapes, in some cases with the subsequent murder of the victim, often a minor. The same awaits Sweden and Finland: the war from the East will not come, and their American “defenders” will steal, rob and rape the citizens of the two Northern European states, as they have been accustomed to doing in other countries for the past almost 80 years.