
BY ATSUSHI MATSUKAWA
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
2010/04/17
NAHA -- It's not just U.S. military personnel who sometimes make Okinawans nervous. Their dogs can, too.
There have been instances of dogs escaping from off-base U.S. military housing and attacking other animals and people. In one case, a local resident was seriously injured.
Due to concerns among residents, local governments are asking U.S. military authorities to ensure that U.S. personnel and their families exercise tighter control on their canines and keep them in locked cages.
On March 16, the Uruma Police Station sent papers to prosecutors on a 24-year-old U.S. Marine Corps sergeant who had failed to register his American pit bull terrier with the local authorities, which is a violation of the Rabies Prevention Law.
In September last year, the dog slipped out of the sergeant's house in Uruma and attacked a neighbor's dog, seriously injuring the animal.
Also in Uruma, a different pit bull owned by a U.S. military police officer ran off and killed a calf in June last year.
Seven years ago in neighboring Okinawa, another pit bull got away from its owner, a sergeant assigned to Kadena Air Base, and bit off the left thumb of a woman in her 50s.
The sergeant was arrested on suspicion of serious negligence resulting in injury.
Statistics compiled by the Okinawa prefectural government and other sources show that in fiscal 2009 there were 31 incidents in which canines originally bred as fighting dogs got away from their owners. More than half involved dogs under the control of U.S. military personnel.
Of those cases, 27 occurred in the central area of the main Okinawan island, where many U.S. bases are located. Of the 27 incidents, 13 occurred in Okinawa and eight in Uruma.
According to both city governments, nine of the 13 cases in Okinawa and seven of the eight in Uruma involved dogs kept by U.S. military personnel.
Until fiscal 2008, about two such incidents took place a year in Uruma. In fiscal 2009, however, the number rose to seven.
"We think that the increase can be attributed to more U.S. military personnel living off base," said an official of the Uruma city government.
There seems to be a fundamental difference between Japan and the United States in the handling of dogs originally bred as fighting dogs.
The Okinawa prefectural government has guidelines on how to care for these dogs, such as pit bulls and Tosa Ken. According to the guidelines, owners are required to keep the dogs in locked cages and muzzled outside their compounds.
According to local governments, many of the dogs that escaped from the clutches of U.S. military personnel were allowed to run free in yards.
One local government official said: "Fighting dogs, which are scary for us, are probably considered cute pets by U.S. military personnel. In the United States, it may be considered common sense to let these dogs run free in big yards. But that should not be done here."
In June last year, a group of 10 municipalities in the central part of the main island, including the cities of Okinawa and Uruma, submitted a letter to U.S. military authorities, demanding that they instruct personnel to care for their dogs in an appropriate manner.
In October, the Okinawa prefectural government, along with municipalities where U.S. bases are located, for the first time included the handling of aggressive dog breeds in a list of demands to U.S. military authorities.
In autumn last year, the U.S. Marine Corps prohibited military personnel from keeping pit bulls and certain other aggressive breeds in on-base housing. Personnel living off base, however, are obliged only to follow Japanese regulations.
"Whenever there has been an incident involving fighting dogs, we have instructed the owners to keep those dogs in an appropriate manner. But some ignore the instructions. When in Japan, U.S. military personnel must follow Japanese rules," said Seiyu Agarie, head of the environmental section of the Okinawa city government.