U.S. Forces Japan and the Japanese government are planning a “new forum of cooperation” with Okinawa’s leaders and community members in response to two U.S. service members’ recent indictments on sexual assault charges.

Members of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly visited Tokyo on Friday to file protest and petition letters addressing two U.S. service members’ recent indictments on sexual assault charges.

Sobriety checks at Marine Corps installations in Japan begin at 8 p.m. Friday and will continue through Saturday, the service announced.

The Marine Corps plans to continue outgoing sobriety checks Friday and Saturday at all Japan installations and increase off-base patrols as a response to discontent on Okinawa over two service members’ indictments for alleged sexual crimes.

A Japanese yachtsman was taken into custody this week after landing at White Beach Naval Facility, according to the Navy and Japan’s coast guard.

About 60,000 tiles made of mudstone and red clay are being placed on the roof of Okinawa landmark Shuri Castle’s main hall in the latest stage of a reconstruction effort after much of it was destroyed in an October 2019 fire. The main hall was one of seven buildings destroyed in a massive blaze that burned for more than 11 hours and made international headlines.

Senior Airman Brennon Richard Edward Washington denied charges against him of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a minor.

The Marine Corps is imposing 100% sobriety checks Friday and Saturday evening at its bases in Japan following complaints from local government leaders about recent charges against U.S. service members for alleged sexual offenses.

A Japanese court Friday sentenced a U.S. Marine to a three-year suspended sentence after he pleaded guilty to robbing a convenience store on Okinawa to retrieve money he lost in an online scam.

A Marine Corps general returned to this air station from Washington, D.C., to take command Friday of the Marines’ air wing in the Indo-Pacific.