U.S. Army Col. Jin W. Park, chief of U.S. Forces Japan’s Okinawa Area Field Office, greets Masahito Tamari, director general of the Okinawa governor’s office, during the first community partnership forum at Camp Foster, Okinawa, May 9, 2025. (Jesse Davis/U.S. Marine Corps)
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — About 35 Okinawa civilian and U.S. military leaders met Friday in a promised forum at this Marine Corps base to discuss cooperative measures to stem criminal behavior by U.S. service members on the island.
The Okinawa Community Partnership Forum was proposed last summer in response to a series of sexual assault allegations against American service members.
During the meeting, U.S. officials reviewed liberty restrictions on service members and sought opinions on improving the briefing given service members new to Okinawa, according to an unsigned statement from U.S. Forces Japan.
Prefectural police said they plan to provide lectures for service members on crime prevention, according to USFJ.
Masahito Tamari, right, director of the Okinawa governor’s executive office, and other prefectural and police officials arrive for the community partnership forum at Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan, May 9, 2025. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)
The forum also discussed expanding joint patrols by U.S. military and Okinawa authorities to Naha city, the prefectural capital, and elsewhere “as requested by the U.S. military,” according to USFJ. The first joint patrol was held April 18-19 in Okinawa city.
“Both sides reaffirmed their dedication to fostering a positive and mutually beneficial relationship based on trust and respect,” and future meetings are planned, according to the statement.
The forum included representatives from the U.S. military on Okinawa, the Okinawa Prefectural Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Okinawa Liaison Office, U.S. Consulate General Naha, Okinawa Defense Bureau, Okinawa Prefectural Police and Okinawa City, according to USFJ.
Authorities with the prefecture, prefectural police and Okinawa Defense Bureau, including Masahito Tamari, director of Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki’s executive office, arrived at the Ocean Breeze, the consolidated club at Camp Foster, shortly before 10 a.m.
The 2½-hour-long session started at 10 a.m. with 30-40 participants, Tamari told reporters later at the prefectural office. More meetings are anticipated, he said.
Photos from the forum posted online by USFJ showed Tamari, Army Col. Jin W. Park, chief of USFJ’s Okinawa office; Army Lt. Col. Rachel Bowers, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Okinawa; and Masaru Shinzato, director of the prefectural police’s Community Safety Planning Division.
U.S. Army Col. Jin W. Park, chief of U.S. Forces Japan’s Okinawa Area Field Office, gives opening remarks at the first community partnership forum at Camp Foster, Okinawa, May 9, 2025. (Jesse Davis/U.S. Marine Corps)
Then-USFJ commander Air Force Lt. Gen. Ricky Rupp in July proposed the forum following a rash of sexual assault allegations against U.S. service members since December 2023.
One case resulted in a conviction and three are still pending in Naha District Court. Some cases were dismissed.
Pfc. Austin R. Wedington, 27, of California, was charged April 30 with sexually assaulting a Japanese woman and injuring another woman at Camp Foster in March.
Two Marines — Lance Cpls. Jamel Clayton and Michael Hofmaster — face trial in separate sexual assault cases from last year. Clayton is scheduled for trial June 2. Hofmaster’s trial has not been scheduled.
In December, Air Force Senior Airman Brennon R.E. Washington was convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a minor in December 2023. He has appealed his sentence of five years in prison with labor.
Okinawa’s Prefectural Assembly on Friday approved letters to U.S. and Japanese officials regarding Wedington’s indictment.
The letters call for regular forum meetings to prevent future incidents involving U.S. service members. They also called for revisions to the U.S. status of forces agreement governing the U.S. troop presence in Japan, new preventative measures and apologies and compensation to the victim.
