Japan, US agree on questioning procedure on military criminal

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, April 02, 2004

Japan, US agree on questioning procedure on military criminal

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Japan and the United States at a high-level meeting Friday in Tokyo formally agreed on Japan's allowing US officials to be present during Japanese police questioning of US military personnel suspected of serious crimes in Japan, the Foreign Ministry said.

The two countries have already reached a basic agreement on thehandling of the suspects in such crimes, including murder and rape,in an effort to review the implementation of the Japan-US Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which governs the management and operation of US troops in Japan.

Participants in the Japan-US Joint Committee, which specifically deals with SOFA-related issues, include Yasumasa Nagamine, deputy director general of the ministry's North AmericanAffairs Bureau, and Brig. Gen. Timothy Larsen, deputy commander ofUS Forces in Japan.

Japan and the United States had been divided over whether US officials would be allowed to be present at Japanese police questioning of US soldiers suspected of committing serious crimes.

The United States wanted Japan to allow US officials to be present, saying it is important to protect suspects' rights as some human rights groups have raised concerns about the Japanese justice system.

Unlike in the US judicial system, Japanese police interrogate criminal suspects without lawyers being present.

According to the ministry, the agreement would be the first review of the SOFA implementation since 1995.

SOFA stipulates that the US military is under no obligation to hand over suspects to Japanese authorities before indictment. But in 1995 Washington agreed to give "sympathetic consideration" to doing so in cases of serious crimes.

Source:Xinhua

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