Okinawa Wants U.S. Officer Removed for Alleged Slurs
Okinawa City leaders on Wednesday unanimously called for the dismissal of the top U.S. Marine commander in Japan for allegedly calling government officials on the island of Okinawa “a bunch of wimps.”
It was the first time a Japanese city assembly has called for a senior U.S. military officer to be removed from his post. Military officials and the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo refused to comment on the assembly’s resolution.
Assembly members in Okinawa City, which borders U.S. Marine bases, demanded that the U.S. military relieve Lt. Gen. Earl Hailston of his command. The resolution also requested the United States cut its military presence on the island.
Under a mutual security treaty between Japan and the United States, about 47,000 U.S. military personnel are stationed in Japan. Nearly two-thirds of them are on Okinawa island, 1,000 miles southwest of Tokyo.
In an e-mail sent to his staff on Jan. 23, Hailston urged his officers to work harder to stop crimes committed by Marines but also expressed frustration with Okinawan leaders’ failure to stand up to base opponents, the Okinawa newspaper Ryukyu Shimpo reported Tuesday.
“I think they are all nuts and a bunch of wimps,” the paper quoted him as saying.
U.S. military officials have refused to confirm the content of the e-mail, saying it was intended as a private communication.
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