VOA常速英语2008年-Series of Crimes Spark Renewed Anger Against US

By Naomi Martig
Hong Kong
08 April 2008

Relations between U.S. military personnel and Japanese communities that host military bases are growing emotional following a spate¹ of crimes committed by U.S. servicemen. The incidents have prompted calls by Japan's opposition² party for a re-evaluation of defense³ pacts⁵, and have led U.S. commanders to clamp down on their troops. Naomi Martig reports from Hong Kong.

In early April, Japanese authorities arrested a U.S. sailor on charges of killing⁶ and robbing a taxi driver near Tokyo. The serviceman had deserted⁷ from the U.S. Yokosuka Naval⁸ Base.

Before that, in February, U.S. military police on the island of Okinawa took a Marine⁹ into custody¹⁰ following allegations that he raped¹² a Japanese teenager. The girl's family decided¹³ not to press charges, but the Marine faces a possible court martial¹⁴.

And next month the military plans to court-martial four Marines accused of gang-raping a woman in the western Japanese city of Hiroshima.

Each incident has inflamed¹⁵ emotions in the Japanese communities around U.S. bases, and has renewed an old debate about how to keep U.S. troops in line.

More than 47,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Japan, about half of them on Okinawa, Japan's smallest prefecture. Residents there are especially sensitive to the latest incidents, because it brings back memories of a 1995 case, when three U.S. servicemen kidnapped and raped a 12-year-old Okinawan schoolgirl.

That prompted large anti-base protests and strained U.S.-Japan relations.

Lieutenant¹⁶ Colonel Douglas Powell is the Marine spokesman on Okinawa. He says although the crime rate among U.S. Marines is far lower than that of the general population, the military is fully¹⁷ responsible for any crime committed by its troops.

"We are guests here in Japan," he said. "Even though we as U.S. military here in Japan have very low crime rate, half that of the local population, still we are guests here and one incident is one too many."

Powell says that in 2007 around one percent of all crimes on Okinawa were committed by U.S. personnel, who make up about three percent of the prefecture's population.

The crime rate for the military on Okinawa has declined in recent years. The Okinawa Prefectural Police say the number of arrests for felonies or serious misdemeanors by troops and their dependents fell to 46 in 2006 from 133 in 2003.

But to improve relations with Okinawans and to reduce the chances of new problems, after this latest rape¹¹ allegation the military imposed a sweeping¹⁸ curfew on service members, civilian¹⁹ employees and family members. The military also restricted alcohol purchases. The restrictions²⁰ were eased after two weeks, but servicemen are still subject to a night-time curfew.

Powell says U.S. commanders and Okinawa officials are discussing other ways to reduce problems, such as joint²¹ police patrols in bar districts.

But for some people who live near bases, such as Suzuyo Takazato, those measures are not enough. Takazato is a co-founder of the Okinawa Women's Act Against Military Violence. She says residents of Okinawa think U.S. and Japanese officials have let them down, especially after this latest incident.

She says apologies by U.S. officials, including one in February by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, are appreciated. But she says they do not solve the problem. What would solve the problem, she says, is for the U.S. military to leave Okinawa.

"We feel always they promise that they are so respectful and that they will train, they will discipline their soldiers, but it's really repeatedly it's happening, we don't see the new solution," she said.

However, many people on Okinawa are hesitant to call for closing the bases, because of the jobs they create for residents of one of Japan's poorest areas.

The larger issue for U.S. and Japanese officials is whether these incidents will affect defense ties.

The outcry after the 1995 rape case was a factor in negotiations²² between the two countries that led to a decision to move about 8,000 Marines from Okinawa by 2012.

Brandon Taylor is a lecturer at the Strategic and Defense Study Center at Australian National University. He says the outcry could intensify²³ if U.S. crimes are not brought under control. But he says it is unlikely to affect U.S. and Japanese defense relations because of regional security issues.

"There's a great degree of apprehension²⁴ regarding the North Korean nuclear problem and more broadly the prospect²⁵ of a unified²⁶ Korea in the future," he said. "And I think that the U.S. alliance is seen as pretty critical to Japan in terms of countering those perceived threats."

Taylor says Japanese policy makers²⁷ could be pressured into changing the defense relationship only if domestic anger increases to a point of social instability.

"It remains²⁸ to be seen, I suppose, whether the protests will continue at the domestic level and that will be the difficulty, I suppose, for the Japanese government - (it) will be to play that little game of balancing that domestic pressure with pressures of the alliance," Taylor said.

Opposition parties, which control the upper house of parliament, have petitioned to revise the pact⁴ that governs the status of U.S. forces in Japan.

Under the agreement, military suspects do not have to be handed over to local authorities until charged by Japanese prosecutors²⁹. After the 1995 rape, Washington agreed to consider handing over suspects in serious cases even if they have not been charged. But the agreement has never actually been changed. Officials in Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's government, however, say the agreement does not need to be changed.

1 spate   

n.泛滥，洪水，突然的一阵

参考例句：

• Police are investigating a spate of burglaries in the area.警察正在调查这一地区发生的大量盗窃案。
• Refugees crossed the border in full spate.难民大量地越过了边境。

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

5 pacts   

条约( pact的名词复数 )； 协定； 公约

参考例句：

• Vassals can no longer accept one-sided defensive pacts (!). 附庸国不会接受单方面的共同防御协定。
• Well, they are EU members now and have formed solidarity pacts with members such as Poland. 他们现在已经是欧盟的一部分了并且他们和欧盟成员诸如波兰等以签署了合作协议。

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

8 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

9 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

10 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

11 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

12 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

15 inflamed   

adj.发炎的，红肿的v.（使）变红，发怒，过热( inflame的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His comments have inflamed teachers all over the country. 他的评论激怒了全国教师。
• Her joints are severely inflamed. 她的关节严重发炎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

17 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

18 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

19 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

20 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

21 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

22 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

23 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

24 apprehension   

n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑

参考例句：

• There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑，于是她越来越担心。
• She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。

25 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

26 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

27 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

28 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

29 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。