The US military in Okinawa, southwestern Japan, has lifted a restriction on off-base drinking by all its personnel and civilian employees.
A spokesperson for the military told NHK on Tuesday that the ban on off-base drinking and a requirement for personnel and employees to return to bases or homes by midnight were lifted earlier in the day.
The military introduced the measures late last month after the murder of a 20-year-old Japanese woman. An American civilian worker at the US Kadena Air Base was arrested on suspicion of the murder.
The measures had originally been set to end last Friday, but were extended until Tuesday.
Under regular rules now being restored, off-base drinking will be allowed until midnight and all US military personnel and civilian employees can stay out until 1 AM.
But crimes have occurred in the prefecture even under the tightened measures. A US navy petty officer was arrested earlier this month for an alleged drunk-driving accident that injured 2 people. A civilian employee was also arrested on Sunday on suspicion of drinking and driving.
Okinawa Vice Governor Mitsuo Ageda met Lieutenant General Lawrence Nicholson, who is chief of the US forces in Okinawa, on Monday and reiterated the need for tighter discipline.
Source and image: NHK
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