A U.S. military base employee has pleaded guilty to causing a traffic accident that resulted in the death of a 19-year-old Japanese man in Okinawa in January last year, it has been learned.
The 24-year-old civilian employee, identified as Rufus Ramsey, stands accused of causing the death of Koki Yogi, a then 19-year-old company employee, during a traffic accident that Ramsey caused on Jan. 12, 2011, on a public road in Okinawa.
During his first trial held at the Naha District Court on Jan. 23, Ramsey told judges that there are no mistakes in the allegations and apologized for his actions, saying that fault for the accident lies fully with him.
The case took a drastic turn after a revision of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) in November last year, allowing Japanese authorities to exercise jurisdiction over crimes committed in Japan by U.S. servicemen and civilian employees while on duty.
Previously, based on SOFA's Article 17 that stated that U.S. authorities held the initial right to exercise jurisdiction on U.S. military personnel who have committed a crime or caused an accident in Japan, Naha prosecutors judged that the 24-year-old should not be indicted. As Ramsey was driving his car home from work when he caused the accident, prosecutors judged that he was still on duty.
As a result, the U.S. military addressed the case by suspending Ramsey from driving for a period of five years.
In May last year, however, the Naha Committee for Inquest of Prosecution expressed its opinion that Ramsey should be subject to prosecution. The committee's opinion and the way the case was initially treated by both governments triggered a series of public protests and dissatisfaction in Okinawa.
Under public pressure, in November last year, the Unites States and Japan revised SOFA to give Japanese authorities more jurisdiction rights against U.S. civilian workers who have committed a criminal act or an accident, even if U.S. authorities have decided not to prosecute the accused.
However, U.S. agreement is required for Japanese authorities to prosecute a U.S. civilian worker.
As a result of the revisions, the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office requested U.S. authorities' permission for cooperation and relaunched its investigation into the case, which led to the opening of Ramsey's trial on Jan. 23.
"There are so many crimes and accidents caused by U.S. military personnel in Okinawa that I feel they lack a sense of reality. I want him (Ramsey) to atone for the crime he has committed," Yogi's mother said while in tears during the trial.
Meanwhile, the trial also revealed that Ramsey failed to attend two interrogation sessions requested by Okinawa Prefectural Police in February last year. When asked about the reason by prosecutors, Ramsey said he was told by another U.S. serviceman that he has the right to choose whether to attend the hearings or not, and that as a result he decided not to go.
via Mainichi Daily News
