Sailor Beats 56 Year Old Japanese Woman to Death
Yup, you can read about it here in Chicago.
TOKYO -- The U.S. Navy is investigating whether an American sailor was involved in the slaying of a 56-year-old Japanese woman, police and diplomatic sources said Thursday, putting the spotlight once again on Japan's uncomfortable relationship with the large U.S. military presence on its soil.
Yoshie Sato was found dead Tuesday morning in the entrance to a commercial building in Yokosuka, a port city 43 miles south of Tokyo and home to the largest American naval base outside the U.S. She had been beaten and died from internal bleeding, according to Japanese police, who said her empty wallet found nearby suggested robbery was the motive.
Sato's death has the potential to inflame feelings against the 47,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan, along with roughly 14,000 sailors with the U.S. 7th Fleet who spend about half the year at Yokosuka. Tokyo is under intense domestic pressure to close--or at least downsize and relocate--U.S. bases.
Tuesday's killing happened near Tokyo, and American officials are concerned that the incident could transform the complaints of scattered communities into a national cry against the U.S. military's presence.
Security camera footage showed Sato leaving her condominium alone and then, shortly afterward, in the company of a man local police sources described as a "foreigner." That prompted Japanese officials to alert the Navy, which checked its electronic record of sailors returning to base that morning.
Japanese media and others familiar with the investigation said the unnamed sailor, reported to be in his 20s and on his first naval assignment with the Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier, had confessed to the crime, though no charges have yet been filed.
Japanese police sources said the investigation has so far been handled exclusively by American officials. While local police want to take custody of the suspect, they have not made any formal request to the U.S.
TOKYO -- The U.S. Navy is investigating whether an American sailor was involved in the slaying of a 56-year-old Japanese woman, police and diplomatic sources said Thursday, putting the spotlight once again on Japan's uncomfortable relationship with the large U.S. military presence on its soil.
Yoshie Sato was found dead Tuesday morning in the entrance to a commercial building in Yokosuka, a port city 43 miles south of Tokyo and home to the largest American naval base outside the U.S. She had been beaten and died from internal bleeding, according to Japanese police, who said her empty wallet found nearby suggested robbery was the motive.
Sato's death has the potential to inflame feelings against the 47,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan, along with roughly 14,000 sailors with the U.S. 7th Fleet who spend about half the year at Yokosuka. Tokyo is under intense domestic pressure to close--or at least downsize and relocate--U.S. bases.
Tuesday's killing happened near Tokyo, and American officials are concerned that the incident could transform the complaints of scattered communities into a national cry against the U.S. military's presence.
Security camera footage showed Sato leaving her condominium alone and then, shortly afterward, in the company of a man local police sources described as a "foreigner." That prompted Japanese officials to alert the Navy, which checked its electronic record of sailors returning to base that morning.
Japanese media and others familiar with the investigation said the unnamed sailor, reported to be in his 20s and on his first naval assignment with the Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier, had confessed to the crime, though no charges have yet been filed.
Japanese police sources said the investigation has so far been handled exclusively by American officials. While local police want to take custody of the suspect, they have not made any formal request to the U.S.
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