Japan, US to hold joint patrol after Okinawa assaults

Japanese and US officials said on Friday they will jointly conduct a patrol in Okinawa following sexual assault cases involving US servicemen.

- 

The United States has around 54,000 military personnel in Japan, mostly in Okinawa in the south, and their behaviour has long angered locals.

The one-off joint operation through busy areas until the early hours of the next day was proposed by the US side.

"The joint patrol will be held on the night of April 18, and it is perhaps the first such joint event since 1973," an official in Okinawa prefecture said.

Okinawa governor Denny Tamaki may participate, the official added.

The patrol reflects "our continued commitment to partnership, accountability, and mutual respect," said Roger Turner, commanding general of III Marine Expeditionary Force and Okinawa Area Coordinator.