Japan: No "Violent" Sailors Wanted Here

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — A new program will identify sailors who are prone to violent behavior that could harm U.S.-Japanese relations, Navy officials said this week.

Sailors with violence problems will not stay in Japan, Commander U.S. Naval Forces Japan Rear Adm. James D. Kelly told Yokosuka city officials Wednesday.

But removal will be used as a last resort, as CNFJ has started a new program to identify sailors struggling with violence and help them, said CNFJ spokeswoman Hanako Tomizuka.

Called “CARE” (Combined Anti-Violence Reflection Education), the program aims to prevent violence with vigilance, education and training of sailors and civilians in Japan.

Kelly told Yokosuka Mayor Ryoichi Kabaya on Wednesday that CARE is already in effect CNFJ-wide, Tomizuka said.

CARE comes on the heels of the March 19 slaying of a 61-year-old taxi driver. Yokosuka Seaman Olatunbosun Ugbogu was indicted last week on a charge of robbery-murder. While Ugbogu, 22, publicly admitted to the stabbing, he denied the motive of robbery, saying instead that he has mental health issues and that those close to him were aware of his problems.

According to the tenets of CARE, Navy leaders will be given an “indicator” that will help identify their subordinates’ potential for violence, Tomizuka said.

Kelly did not give specifics about the indicator as it is an “internal document,” but he told reporters Wednesday it was similar to a checklist, Tomizuka said.

Sailors identified as having violent tendencies will first receive counseling and help; if that fails, they will face stricter measures, and if those don’t work, there is the potential for the sailor to be separated out of the Navy or sent back to the U.S., Tomizuka said.

I think it's possible that this "internal document" is being kept secret because it recommends racially profiling African-American servicemembers. The notorious 1995 rape of an Okinawan girl was committed by African-American Marines, and the more recent case of USMC Staff Sergeant Tyrone Luther Hadnott appears to involve an African-American, as well. The US Navy sailor mentioned in the article above, Olatunbosun Ugbogu, is a Nigerian national serving in the US Navy. The disproportionate number of rapes committed in the US by African-American men is well known to the Japanese authorities.

I don't really want to post this, because I'll get called racist, but it needs to be out there. If the Japanese are trying to start a program to determine "violent" behavior based on secret criteria, it needs to be exposed in the media.