TOKYO, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Japan and the United States will amend an archaic pact that governs the way U.S. military personnel and base-linked civilian workers are dealt with legally following rising instances of crimes committed by U.S. service people in Japan, local media quoted government sources as saying Monday.
According to Kyodo News, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy and Lt. Gen. John Dolan, commander of the U.S. military in Japan, will announce the plans to revise elements of the the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) at a press conference on Tuesday.
The move comes as anti-U.S. sentiment on Okinawa Island, which hosts the bulk of U.S. military facilities in Japan, has been rising exponentially in the wake of a series of crimes involving U.S. military-linked personnel including murder, rape, assault and a number of drunk driving cases.
Calls have been made from both the prefectural and central government for SOFA to be revised, particularly from the former, as the pact is overly-protective of American citizens and contains loopholes whereby U.S. offenders can dodge prosecution in Japan as the bases are under U.S. legal jurisdiction.
"Japan and the United States are currently reviewing the treatment of Americans subject to the agreement and we are making final arrangements to swiftly compile effective measures," Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda was quoted as telling a press conference.
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