7　正当化される不処罰　2000年以降の在日米軍性暴力に対する日本の司法処理

抄録

In the wake of the gang rape of a teenage girl by U.S. marines in Okinawa in 1995, local feminists led protests against the insecurity experienced by women and girls in the name of national security, defining sexual assaults by U. S. soldiers as “structural violence” caused by the presence of a military that upheld militarism and sexism. It was also during this time that the invisibility and impunity of sexual violence under conflicts was problematized around the world, leading to the strengthening of international institutions to address the issue. However, after 20 years, sexual assaults by U.S. military-related persons (including soldiers, civilian workers, and their families) in Japan continue to occur despite repeated promises of prevention by both governments in the face of the deepening of U.S.Japan military cooperation. How much has the state response to military sexual violence changed in practice?

This paper examines Japanese criminal justice responses to sexual assaults committed by U.S. military-related persons stationed in Japan since 2000, focusing on the criminal justice system as a major institution through which sexual violence by allied forces is normalized despite the strengthened international norms on women’s rights in international security. Much literature points to the unequal nature of the Status of Forces Agreement, restricting the sovereign power of Japan as well as subordinating the practices of Japanese authorities, as a major factor leading to the impunity of crimes committed by U.S. military-related persons.

Although the unequal relationship with the United States affects the way those crimes are handled, one should not neglect how Japanʼs discriminative sexual violence laws and institutional practices facilitate Japanese authorities in dropping charges in more than 80% of sexual assault cases.

By examining the data of Japanese criminal justice institutions, this paper confirms that sexual assaults by U.S. military-related persons continue to pose a constant threat to communities that host military bases, and impunity is rampant even after the 1995 gang rape case, although access to the information of the U.S. military is limited. Further, by examining cases in which Japanese prosecutors have failed to indict, the author discusses how discriminative institutional arrangements, inappropriate investigation practices, and social biases play crucial roles in discouraging victims to file complaints and facilitate the dropping of charges by prosecutors. Finally, the author discusses how the Japanese state and the U.S. military jointly construct an image of the U.S. military as a well-disciplined force and thus legitimize the failure of the Japanese state to indict sexual assaults, which further denies justice to the victims.