Yokosuka Naval Base is home of the U.S. 7th Fleet south of Tokyo. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Japanese prosecutors have indicted a Tokyo man accused of using a forged U.S. military ID to gain entry to the Navy’s largest overseas installation.
Yoshitaka Mizuno, 45, was charged Thursday with using a forged private document without signature or seal, a spokeswoman for the Yokohama District Public Prosecutors Office said by phone Friday.
Prosecutors say Mizuno entered Yokosuka Naval Base on Oct. 22 and Nov. 6 without a valid reason and presented himself as someone affiliated with the U.S. military, the spokeswoman said.
He was also charged with committing a criminal act that breached the U.S.-Japan status of forces agreement, according to the prosecutors’ office. The agreement outlines the rights and responsibilities of service members and Defense Department civilians in the country.
Prosecutors also alleged he presented a forged ID when asked to identify himself at the Akasaka Police Station in Tokyo on Nov. 6.
Some Japanese officials may speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.
Yokosuka Naval Base spokesman Justin Keller did not immediately respond to email and phone requests for comment Friday.
The command is “aware of media reports of an alleged illegal entry,” Keller wrote in a Feb. 20 email. He said the base was “cooperating fully” with police but could not comment further on an ongoing investigation.
Police allege Mizuno used a forged ID with his photo under the name of “Yoshitaka Alex Mizuno” to enter the installation, spokespeople for Kanagawa Prefectural Police told Stars and Stripes on Feb. 20.
While on base, he rented a car that he kept for two weeks. He later parked the vehicle on a Tokyo street, where the Metropolitan Police Department cited him for a parking violation in November. That led investigators to discover his entry into the base, the police said.
Police determined his ID was fake after asking the U.S. military about it.
Mizuno, a trading company employee, admitted entering the base and said he was attracted by the U.S. military and wanted to interact with that community as much as possible, the spokespeople said.
Police arrested Mizuno at his Tokyo home on Feb. 19.
