Kakuchi 7- Nieman fellow and the recipient of a Fellowship for South Asian Reporters from the Foreign Press center Foundation, Japan (Suvendrini, 1/31/07, “respect women before setting up military bases”, http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=36377)
TOKYO, Jan 31, 2007 (IPS) - Japan's plans to boost its defence capability with the support of the United States is being opposed by women's rights activists who say that U.S. military bases in this country are a danger to women who live in their vicinities. More than a hundred women activists and their supporters, including Korean anti-American base groups, held a meeting on Monday night to mark the first anniversary of the murder of a 56-year-old woman who was robbed and killed by an American sailor on January 2006, close to Camp Zama in Yokusuka, Kanagawa prefecture, a suburb of Tokyo. Reiko Ashizawa, one of the organisers, blamed ‘'sheer lack of respect for Asian women in the U.S. military and the Japanese government as the root cause of the problem.'' ‘'We are up against a culture where women's rights are considered secondary. Our demonstration drew attention to this situation,'' she told IPS. Activists say they are ready to fight jointly with their counterparts in Asia - particularly in the Philippines and South Korea - as Tokyo prepares to strengthen collaboration with the U.S. military in Japan. Already Ashizawa has joined other activists to collect signatures and raise funds for a Filipina rape victim. The perpetrator was convicted in December, but was afterwards controversially removed to custody within the premises of the U.S. embassy in Manila under the visiting forces agreement (VFA) between the two countries. According to the Gabriella Women's Party in the Philippines there were 82 cases of sexual abuse committed against women and 15 cases against children by U.S. servicemen before the U.S. Bases Agreement, signed in 1947, was finally terminated in September 1991. Criminal acts and cases of sexual abuse, including the rape of a 12-year-old Japanese girl by three Marines in 1995, resulted in the relocation of the U.S. base within Okinawa prefecture. The U.S. currently maintains 50,000 troops on Japanese soil. Plans have been passed in the Diet (parliament) that provides for the deployment of carrier-based fighter jets in Okinawa and the setting up of a new U.S. radar system for ballistic missile defence on the island. Suzuyo Takasato, a leading activist in Okinawa, heads one of several movements that record in detail instances of violence committed by U.S. military personnel on women in Japan. Takasato points to a survey by activists who scoured newspapers and other publications and also conducted their own research, to find at least six cases of serious crimes perpetrated against women that have led to arrests of U.S. servicemen stationed on Okinawa. ‘'The numbers could be much higher because women do not report every harassment that occurs,'' explained Takasato One argument being advanced against U.S. bases in Japan by activists here is that they are contributing to the fear of abuse of women in other parts of Asia. ‘'The provision of bases on Okinawa for American military personnel make Japanese women feel guilty and they want to increase solidarity with activists from other parts of Asia that are protesting against violations by U.S. servicemen in their countries,'' Takasato told IPS. Official records also indicate that crimes and other incidents involving U.S. military personnel and civilian employees stationed in Japan are rising, though documentation is weak. Japan's defence agency, which was upgraded to the level of a ministry this month, has records that show 1,866 cases in 2004 and 2,079 cases in 2003 - nearly 50 percent higher than a decade ago. Traffic violations, robberies, rape and murder were reported. Under the U.S.-Japan Armed Forces Agreement, American soldiers arrested for crimes against local civilians can either be handed over to Japanese police or placed under U.S. custody but primacy is given to U.S. authority. Protests against such protection go unheeded because of the official argument that U.S. bases are crucial for Japan's security. But women's rights activists and their supporters are not ready to buy that and say respect for women must come first. A landmark ruling in this direction was recorded on Monday when NHK, Japan's public broadcaster, was ordered to pay compensation to an anti-war women's group for altering a television
Prostitution Policy Link
The Post WWII prostitution policy of the U.S. stripped the rights of women suspected to sell sex, while allowing soldiers to participate in prostitution, fueling the industry and asserting male dominance over women.
Yuki, 6 (Fujime, “Japanese Feminism and Commercialized Sex: The Union of Militarism and Prohibitionism” “Social Science Japan Journal Vol. 9, No. 1, pp 33–50 “)
Among the salient characteristics of the American Plan, first and foremost is the granting to military authorities the power to establish zones around military bases where the sale of sexual services is prohibited. Often misunderstood is the fact that this provision does not make prostitution in general illegal within these zones. Rather, it is women’s sale of their sexual services that was forbidden; purchase of those services by soldiers was not prohibited. From the early 20th century onward, the US military, like those of various western countries, encouraged soldiers to use antiseptics, and this became a common practice from the World War I through the World War II. The behavior that was prohibited for soldiers was carelessly contracting an STD from having sex without using an antiseptic. They were not reprimanded for purchasing sex as long as they took preventative measures and were even encouraged to do so. Another point that is easily misunderstood is that under the American Plan, what is established by law is the right of commanders to establish zones in which the sale of sexual services is prohibited. If commanders do not deem it necessary, they are not required to establish these zones. In fact, there are hardly any instances of the rights given by the May Act being exercised domestically (Shimada 1998: 60). Yet, wherever the US military went overseas, it institutionalized the practice of directly administering prostitution zones around its military bases all over the world (Tanaka 2002: 84–99). In short, the setting up of zones where the sale of sexual services is prohibited was not a means of restraining the behavior of military personnel; rather, it was a means of giving the military the right to exercise power over women. The second characteristic of the AmericanPlan that concerns us hereis that the coercion initially applied to women within the limited spaces of the areas surrounding US military bases gradually expanded throughout the entire region. Any woman suspected of engaging in prostitution was forced to submit to a medical examination to check for STDs. Within the areas around the bases where the sale of sex was prohibited, existing brothels and red light districts were shut down, but new forms of prostitution in hotels, dance halls, and taxis quickly emerged. When Allied and local governments realized that the sale of sex and the spread of STDs did not disappear despite the establishment of these zones, they made even greater efforts to apprehend suspected prostitutes. Under the American Plan, vast numbers of women were arrested on the mere suspicion of prostitution and were deprived of their civil rights. They were arrested on the arbitraryjudgment of officials and forced to undergo medical examinations. If they were found to be suffering from an STD, they were taken into custody and forced to undergo treatment for their condition. It is reported that during World War I, approximately 35,000 women were arrested. These were not just women who were professional prostitutes but also a considerable number of women simply walking down the street or running errands who were arrested on suspicion of prostitution (Bristow 1996: 119–125; Pivar 2003: 217). This sort of infringement of civil rights recurred during World War II. Hundreds of women living in the neighborhoods surrounding military bases were rounded up and jailed as suspected prostitutes (Sherman 1995: 119–137).
