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Kenneth Franklin Shinzato, a former U.S. soldier indicated that he killed a Japanese woman whose body was found in Okinawa Prefecture, police sources said, in a case that has fueled demands that the U.S. military leave the southern prefecture.
Kenneth Franklin Shinzato, 32, was taken into custody Thursday after investigators found the body of Rina Shimabukuro, an office worker from Uruma, face up in a wooded area provided by the suspect, Japanese police said. Police said Shinzato told investigators he had put the woman’s body in the wooded area after she became motionless.
An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.
Police said they will refer Shinzato to the Naha district public prosecutor’s office with a charge of illegal disposal of a body.
Kenneth Franklin Shinzato works at Kadena Air Base and is believed to be a former U.S. serviceman, police said. He reportedly lives in the town of Yonabaru with his wife and their child.
Shimabukuro was last heard from around 8 p.m. on April 28 when she told her boyfriend she was going for a walk. Several hours later, Shimabukuro reportedly “read” a message on her phone but did not respond.
Shimabukuro’s boyfriend reported her missing the next morning, Kyodo News said.
Police feared she had been the victim of a crime or an accident because she left behind her car and wallet, according to the report.
Her phone GPS indicated she was last in an industrial area near her home in Uruma’s Suzaki district. Shinzato’s red SUV was among about 300 vehicles captured in security-camera footage from the area where the victim was last seen during that time period, police said.
“As I look back at all the developments to date, I’m simply speechless,” Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga told Japanese media on Thursday.
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida summoned U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy to convey his “regret” over the crime, AP reported. Kennedy offered condolences for Shimabukuro’s death.
Speaking in Washington, Defense Department spokesman Peter Cook described the news as “an appalling tragedy.”
“The U.S. military extends its deepest sympathies to the people of Japan, and [we] express our gratitude for the trust that they place in our bilateral alliance and the American people,” he said.
Agencies/Canadajournal
My spouse in the USCG, went to Japan, and has explained to me that we are guests in these
oriental countries. The idea is to behave in a manner befitting the United States Coast Guard
(Army, Marines, Navy, Seals, Air Force, Sea Bees , etc.)
This is a horrible crime for sure. and there is no question this individual should be punished to the full extent of the law. However, every time a US serviceman or US civilian commits a crime in Okinawa there is this kind of exaggerated response by the Japanese government. The truth is, these incidents are very rare. The facts show clearly that Americans are very well behaved in Okinawa by comparison to it’s Japanese citizens. Americans make up 4% of the people occupying the island of Okinawa, and account for a little more than one half of 1% of crimes as reported by the Okinawa Justice Department. Another words, an American is over 50 times less likely to commit a crime than an Japanese citizen of Okinawa. I don’t about you, but if I could be assured that a certain group of resident aliens working in my country where 50 times less likely to commit a crime than my own neighbors I wouldn’t be protesting at their gates. But that’s just me.