简体中文
Former marine has already admitted killing and assaulting 20-year old office worker, sources say
Defence Minister Gen Nakatani lodged a protest with the commander of US forces in Okinawa on Saturday after the arrest of a civilian base worker over the death of a local woman stoked anger among islanders already feeling burdened with the heavy US military presence.
Kenneth Franklin Shinzato, a 32-year-old former Marine, was arrested on Thursday for allegedly dumping the 20-year-old woman’s body and has since admitted to killing her, according to investigative sources, who quoted him as saying he also sexually assaulted the victim.
Coming just days ahead of US President Barack Obama’s trip to Japan next week to attend a Group of Seven summit and visit the atomic-bombed city of Hiroshima, the incident has sent Japanese and US officials scrambling to contain the political fallout.
In the meeting with Lieutenant General Lawrence Nicholson, Nakatani demanded that the US military in Okinawa enhance discipline and take measures to prevent similar incidents.
“This is outrageous and unforgivable,” Nakatani said during the meeting at a Defence Ministryoffice in Okinawa.
Nicholson said: “Our heartfelt prayers and condolences are offered to the family.”
Policemen escort US citizen and former US Marine Kenneth Franklin Shinzato,centre, to the prosecutor's office at Uruma Police Station in Uruma, Okinawa prefecture, on May 21, 2016. Photo: AFP
Nakatani lodged a similar protest when he summoned Lieutenant General John Dolan, commander of US forces in Japan, in Tokyo on Thursday. The minister attended the victim’s funeral yesterday in Nago, as did Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga and Aiko Shimazaki, a cabinet minister in charge of Okinawa affairs.
The victim, an office worker from Uruma, went missing after she texted her boyfriend at around 8pm on April 28 to say she was going for a walk. Police later went public about her disappearance, seeking information about her whereabouts.
The police had been questioning Shinzato, who works at US Kadena Air Base, on a voluntary basis since Monday after they identified his car in security camera footage in the area where GPS data from the victim’s smartphone was last logged.
Based on his statement during questioning, the police found the woman’s body in a wooded area in the village of Onna on Thursday and arrested him on suspicion of dumping the body sometime between April 28 and 29.
(SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST)
