2 sons of U.S. soldiers arrested for taxi holdup

Saturday 05th April, 01:33 PM JST

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greenteaonsens at 12:37 PM JST - 7th April

Standing U.S. armies are not needed on Japanese soil. End of.
skipthesong at 06:10 PM JST - 7th April

Can anyone tell me why US service men are allowed to bring their families here? I see no reason why families should have a paid trip to Japan.

Military dependents + Increased Military pay + free housing + free fun facilities + over weight + non-working + free education + snotty nose kids + subsidized foods = welfare recipients! Stop support American welfare in Japan
Loki520 at 06:38 PM JST - 7th April

Greenteaonsens - "Standing U.S. armies are not needed on Japanese soil. End of."

I agree. Could you get the JGov to reinstate the JN military's ability to defend their country and then send some diplomats to China, DPRK and just about everyone else in Asia letting them know that Japan officially apologies for all past transgressions? Also, you'll need them to increase their end strength, as well as equipment supplies and monitoring capability.

Oh yea... and quit compromising our Aegis equipment if they want to keep it. They'll need it under the new "Greenteaonsens" peace plan.
facto2 at 06:41 PM JST - 7th April

GIs are human too. Lets say they change the rules and GIs are not allowed to go overseas with their spouses, how many do you think would stay in the military for the long haul? We could ban overseas accompanied tours and just have a bunch of SINGLE 18 year olds running the show. Would you feel safer then? But hey, at least GIs spouses wouldnt get a free ride to Japan. Oh yeah, beleive it or not spouses put a human face on our US military. Their image of us as the ultimate barbarians would be even worse if they didnt see our families.
Loki520 at 06:48 PM JST - 7th April

And all the MWR jobs they hold!!
sailwind at 06:50 PM JST - 7th April

Skip???????? >

Can anyone tell me why US service men are allowed to bring their families here? I see no reason why families should have a paid trip to Japan.

Military dependents + Increased Military pay + free housing + free fun facilities + over weight + non-working + free education + snotty nose kids + subsidized foods = welfare recipients! Stop support American welfare in Japan

A huge chunk of the Military are people who have made a career out of it. The life is hard enough as it is being seperated from your wife and kids while your on deployment as it is. You miss birthdays and Christmas's. You miss a big part of watching your kids grow up. You want to make that even worse, by saying you can't be with your wife and kids if the Military say's your needed in Okinawa for a three year tour? C'mon man have a heart the life is hard in the Military a strong family helps one cope with the life knowing you that they are waiting for you when you finally come home from deployment. You may not want to foot the bill for a free trip for them, I sure don't mind coughing up the dough to make sure a young daughter or son gets to see his Daddy come back safe from Iraq, or Afghanistan and hold his kids again.
serendipity628 at 11:31 PM JST - 7th April

>

And anyone who supports the removal of the US troops from Japan is an idiot! Without these troops, Japan would be invaded in a heartbeat!! And not to mention the thousands of jobs that would disappear for local Japanese too! It's about time the Japanese stopped playing antagonist and started being greatful for the US being here and contributing enormously to their economy!

Most of what you say is just U.S. base propanganda. If enough people hear the same thing over and over they start to believe it. Of course that is how members of the U.S. military convince themselves that they are doing the right thing and thus justify their existence here. You think Japan would be invaded in a heartbeat? By who exactly? NK and China? I doubt it. I agree that many jobs would be lost but that price would be worth it. Japan is pretty good at creating jobs. Sorry to say, but the U.S. just continues to embarrass itself (and upset the local population) anywhere they have a sizeable military presence overseas. Look at Saudi Arabia, Germany, Turkey and Japan (not to mention Iraq and Afghanistan). Would the world really fall apart and collapse into anarchy and chaos if the U.S. troops went home? How about a one-year trial period where all U.S. troops serving overseas go home? If there aren't any problems overseas during that time then make it two years, then three and so on. Satellites allow for spying and checking what other naughty countries are doing. I think there would be major celebrations around the world by vast numbers of people. Surely terrorism would decrease. My final question for those serving in the U.S. military here is, "What would it take to have U.S. troops out of Japan or are we stuck with you forever here?" (by that I mean what event would need to occur in order to convince you that your services are no longer required here?)
VOR at 05:47 AM JST - 8th April

serendipity: either you lack the most basic understanding of geopolitics or you are a victim of your own biases. US-Japanese security is a foundation for peace in the region. US forces in Japan serve as a deterrent on a few different levels but at the very core of it is that China, the Koreas and others expect the Japanese military to maintain a non agresssive posture. A Japanese military sized adequately to protect itself makes Japan's victims of earlier wars nervous and lead to greater tension in the region. The US on the other hand benefits by having a forward deployed capability that prevents Chinese and NOKO aggression. If you are Japanese or American, you should be directing these questions to your government representatives and not US service members. IF you are not Japanese, you ought to butt out. With China directing significant resources toward modernizing its military, do you really think the Japanese government prefers to roll the dice as you are suggesting? IF anybody can be accused of being a victim of propaganda, that would be you my friend.
redacted at 08:42 AM JST - 8th April

I can't count how many times I've read reports like this. Still, the vast majority of Japanese I know want the US military here.

It galls a lot of loser gaijin but who cares.
rtrhead1 at 04:13 PM JST - 8th April

Skip, I think you ought to rethink your statements about our families. The majority of our families aren't welfare leeching, overweight, non working mothers with jacked up kids. I am getting really tired of yours, and others' hateful crap. Get over yourself. I'm sure your wife isn't a supermodel with a masters degree who volunteers with small children. So, how about not insulting all of us over here just because of a few...
upnorth71 at 05:29 PM JST - 8th April

First, I believe the majority of Japanese want US forces stationed in Japan (but not near where they live- NIMBYism is natural) and I think the US military presence does much more good than harm. But I find the complaints that come from some U.S. service people about the restrictiveness of curfews unbelievable, especially in light of the fact that your compatriots are serving (and dying) in Iraq and Afghanistan at this moment. Perhaps misbehavior should be "rewarded" by transfer to above mentioned theaters.
Loki520 at 08:30 PM JST - 8th April

Upnorth,

It might be hard to believe, but tours in those places are 16 months or less. it is quite possible, and in my case definate, that some of us have done those tours with our respective services and are back at home base. And one of those "compatriots" is my daughter, so I think I can speak smartly about that particular component of this arguement.

On the other hand, I'm not one of them complaining about the curfew. Those were the orders, and I'll follow them. I don't agree that everyone should be punished, in ANY way, for the actions of a rare few, but if that is what the commander decides, I'll comply and enforce.
frontandcentre at 10:04 AM JST - 9th April

redacted - the vast majority of Japanese you know probably work for the U.S. military, which would explain your observation. Plainly you've never met any Okinawans... No, I think you'll find that the regular misbehaviour of U.S. servicemen and their spawn in Japan is further reducing the dwindling band of Japanese who want American forces here.
rtrhead1 at 07:22 PM JST - 9th April

frontandcentre, I think you'll find that the "regular misbehaviour" of US servicemen and their "spawn" is not all that regular when you look at the sheer number of servicemembers that you have here. I'm not, I repeat I AM NOT COMPARING OUR CRIMES TO THE CRIMES OF OKINAWANS!!! I just had to throw that out there because someone here would get their feathers all ruffled if I had done that. What I am saying, is that percentage-wise, we have far less crime per 1000 people than the almost any other group with roughly the same demographic. Also, I think those like you and skipthesong should show people whom you have never met and know nothing about a little more respect. I'm not saying you need to bow down, but damn, do you really need to call our children "spawn"? That's pretty disrespecful and it's something that I would never call your children. It's almost as bad as calling all our kids snotty and our wives fat. Very disrespectful indeed.
UnagiDon at 10:33 AM JST - 10th April

I agree that the US military has good reasons to be in Japan and should stay, but the whole idea that they are the only thing holding back the Red hordes is just laughable. If China or the PRC tried to "invade" Japan (ignoring the fact that they have no real capability to do so), they'd get their arses kicked by the SDF, even without US help. Enough with the condescending paternalism...the SDF is a capable military that is not a military. The US presence is a buffer against China elsewhere in Asia (Taiwan) and NK, not primarily to defend Japan from Little Red Book-waving fanatics.

Moderator: All readers back on topic please. Posts that do not refer the alleged crime in question will be removed.