Obama Lectured by Japanese PM over Murder by U.S. Marine

As part of President Obama’s recent Asia-Pacific tour — and more broadly, his worldwide apology tour — the president issued a de-facto apology to the people of Japan for the atomic bombings that ended the brutal World War in the Pacific theater.  The apology has sparked outrage among many for diminishing the heroic efforts of World War II veterans in ending the brutal war — not to mention the horrendous timing on the eve of Memorial Day.

What may have been lost in the outrage over the Hiroshima apology is the dustup between the leaders of the two countries over some much more recent history.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed “profound resentment” and noted that he has “firmly lodged a protest” as he made the unusual move of publicly lecturing President Barack Obama for the murder of an Okinawa resident by a former U.S. Marine.

In response to the Japanese leader’s comments on Wednesday, President Obama reportedly apologized, expressing his “sincerest condolences and deepest regrets” and pledging full cooperation.

“Kenneth Franklin Shinzato has already confessed to stabbing and strangling the 20-year-old Japanese woman who had been working as a contractor at Kadena Air Base,” reports Politico.

“That’s not enough for Abe, who linked this to a long and bitter history of American personnel stationed here preying on Japanese citizens, most famously in the 1995 rape case when three American servicemen raped a 12-year old girl,” explains the report. “Just this past March, another Marine was arrested for raping a woman.”

Shinzato has been identified as a U.S. contractor who was working at the U.S. Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture at the time of the murder. He had previously served in the U.S. Marine Corp.

Japanese PM Abe publicly took Obama to task for the murder in Okinawa.

“I feel profound resentment for this self-centered and despicable crime,” said Abe, speaking through a translator, according to Politico. “This case shocked the entire Japan.”

“I have asked the president to carry out effective measures to prevent a recurrence of such crimes,” added the Japanese leader.

Abe warned that the incident could lead to future problems linked to America’s military presence in Japan.

Prime Minister Abe did not elaborate on whether or not he would consider canceling his country’s contract with the United States over its military presence in Okinawa.  Despite enjoying support from most Japanese people over U.S. military presence on Okinawa and throughout the country,  opponents will undoubtedly use the incident to dissuade the Japanese government from renewing its status of forces agreement with the United States.

Source: Breitbart