Ho. Lee. Sh**. 350 a year in ONE country.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH.

From Liquidate Empire by Chalmers Johnson:

in October 1953, the Japanese and American governments signed a secret "understanding" as part of their SOFA in which Japan agreed to waive its jurisdiction if the crime was not of "national importance to Japan." The U.S. argued strenuously for this codicil because it feared that otherwise it would face the likelihood of some 350 servicemen per year being sent to Japanese jails for sex crimes.

350. A. Year. (Or, as the Economist said, citing Shoji Niihara:)

Why did America fight so hard in 1953 to maintain control of criminal cases involving its boys? The documents do not say, but provide a clue: in numerous settings, American officials express unease that American servicemen commit roughly 30 serious crimes each month.

(Third source.)


AGGH. Crap.

(By the way, although I don't know what they were like in 1953 compared to ours, in 1984, this is what it was like to be in a Japanese prison. Fair. Unlike the "who the hell cares about letting Japanese people convict & punish American rapists?" Status of Forces Agreement.)