U.S. service members and Okinawa police patrol Gate 2 Street in Okinawa city, Okinawa, April 19, 2025. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — U.S. service members and Japanese authorities are slated to conduct a second joint overnight patrol in the wake of a series of high-profile criminal cases involving American troops.
The Japan-U.S. Joint Community Safety Patrol will take place early Saturday near Gate 2 Street, a nightlife district close to Kadena Air Base, U.S. Forces Japan said in an unsigned email Wednesday.
The patrol is expected to run from midnight to 2 a.m., Marine Corps Installations Pacific spokesman Wesley Hayes said by phone Thursday.
Roughly 60 people are expected to participate, including about 20 U.S. troops, an Okinawa city Base Policy Division spokesman said by phone Thursday. The group will include representatives from Okinawa prefecture, Okinawa city, the Okinawa Defense Bureau and Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki, who joined the first patrol April 18-19 in the same area, will not participate, but Okinawa city Mayor Daisuke Hanashiro is expected to attend, the spokesman said. He declined to specify which U.S. military units will take part.
Participants will be divided into three groups to patrol various routes around Gate 2 Street, he said. Some Japanese officials speak to the press only on condition of anonymity.
The April event was the first joint patrol of its kind on the island since 1974, according to Okinawa Prefectural Police. It included about 30 U.S. troops, 20 Okinawa police officers and 50 local government officials and community members.
Saturday’s patrol follows the first meeting of the Okinawa Community Partnership Forum, which took place May 9 at Camp Foster. First proposed last summer, the forum brings together about 35 U.S. military and Japanese officials to coordinate public safety efforts.
Participants discussed the possibility of expanding joint patrols to other areas of the island, including the capital city of Naha, according to USFJ’s email.
They also spoke about updates to the orientation briefing provided to newly arrived service members on Okinawa, the command said.
The patrols and partnership efforts follow increased public concern stemming from several cases involving U.S. service members, including one conviction for sexual assault, one pending case, and an attempted assault case.
Most recently, Marine Pfc. Austin Wedington, 27, was charged April 30 with sexually assaulting a Japanese woman and injuring another woman in March at Camp Foster.
