【Talk】Investigating the U.S. Military Crimes in Japan（英語講演）

カリフォルニア大学バークレー校で、米軍犯罪と日米地位協定の問題について講演しました。講演のベースになっているのは、スローニュースで伝えた調査報道特集「日米公文書発掘 この案は殺さねばならなぬ」です。こちらも合わせてぜひ読んでみてください！

My talk about the U.S. military crimes and jurisdiction issues under the Status of Forces Agreement is out on Youtube! Special thanks to UC Berkeley Center for Japanese Studies for this wonderful opportunity. 

Description: Hanayo Oya, a journalist and former visiting scholar at CJS, will discuss her latest investigative story on the issue of crimes perpetrated by U.S. military personnel against local people in Japan. Especially controversial has been the criminal jurisdiction over the U.S. military personnel because of the Status of Forces Agreements (SOFAs), which are multilateral or bilateral agreements that protect U.S. military personnel from being subject to criminal justice systems in host countries. As a result, once jurisdiction is handed over to the U.S. side, there is no more legal recourse - and effectively no transparency - for the local communities affected by the crimes. Japanese laws don’t apply to the perpetrators, and Japanese journalists often treat these crimes as extraterritorial matters. This state of affairs leaves crucial questions unanswered: How exactly were such agreements made between Japan and the U.S.? And what was the purpose of the agreements? The presenter will examine the historical background of the agreements as well as their influences on local communities in Japan.

Investigating the U.S. Military Crimes in Japan

Colloquium: Center for Japanese Studies | January 26 | 4 p.m PST

Speaker: Hanayo Oya, Journalist/Documentary Filmmaker

Sponsor: Center for Japanese Studies, UC Berkeley