Ridge Alkonis: The sailor who stoked Japanese resentment against the US - BBC News

The early release of Ridge Alkonis, who killed two in a car accident, stirs unease over US-Japan relations.

1 day agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, SuppliedImage caption, A photo of a smiling Ridge Alkonis sitting with his family in a car after his releaseBy Nicholas Yong & Ian Tang BBC News When the story of Ridge Alkonis first broke on 29 May 2021, it did not initially attract much attention in Japan.

The US Navy officer had killed two Japanese citizens in a car accident during a trip to Mount Fuji - the victims were an 85-year-old woman and her son-in-law, aged 54.

After pleading guilty to negligent driving, Alkonis was sentenced to three years jail in October 2021. In his defence, US Navy doctors said he had been suffering from acute mountain sickness at the time of the accident. He was transferred to US custody last December.

Alkonis, stationed at the Yokosuka naval base south of Tokyo, was just the latest American serviceman to run into legal troubles. Since the US-Japan Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) was inked in 1960 - enabling the deployment of US military forces in the country - there have been hundreds of criminal cases involving US military personnel.

Then on 13 January, a celebratory tweet by CNN anchor Jake Tapper - accompanied by a photo of a smiling Alkonis, 36, with his wife and three children - about "great and breaking news" jolted the Japanese public.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-68137582

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