On November 2, 2002, U.S. Marine Corps Major Michael Brown attempted an indecent assault on a Filipina bartender in Okinawa, Japan. The bartender accused Brown of attempting to rape her and of throwing her cell phone into a nearby river; Brown denied the rape charges. The victim later recanted and attempted to withdraw the accusation, though prosecutors presented evidence that she had received a cash payment just before doing so.

The case received extensive attention in the Japanese media, especially in Okinawa, and the crime sparked a public debate over the U.S. military presence in Japan, the privileges of extraterritoriality, as well as the fair-trial practices of Japanese legal system and the Japanese police. The case involved the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security Between the United States and Japan and the U.S.–Japan Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).

On July 8, 2004, after a 19-month trial, Brown was convicted by a Japanese court of attempted indecent assault and destruction of private property and received a one-year suspended prison sentence. As a result of this incident and others involving crimes committed by U.S. military personnel in Japan, both countries entered into negotiations aimed at modifying the SOFA in July 2003. Ultimately, no changes were made to the agreement. In 2005, Brown was arrested and charged with a separate kidnapping in the United States. He was demoted and involuntarily retired from the military in 2006 and at his trial in 2009 entered an Alford plea, receiving probation on the felony conviction.

Crime and arrest

Early in the morning of November 2, 2002, a female employee of the Camp Courtney officers' club on Okinawa drove up to the Courtney main gate and reported to base security personnel that a Marine Corps major had just attempted to sexually assault her in her car on a deserted road near the back gate of the base. She identified the Marine as Major Michael Brown and stated that during the assault the major threw her mobile phone into the nearby Tengan River.Allen, David, "Marine major in Okinawan custody after indictment on sex crime charge", "Okinawa Marine denied bail in alleged attack", and "Filipina testifies to major's innocence".

The woman, later identified as Victoria Nakamine, was 40 years old, and originally from the Philippines. She had lived in Okinawa for 17 years, and was married to a Japanese citizen of Okinawan descent. She reported that she had picked up Brown in her car about 1:30 a.m. after the officers' club closed and that he directed her to the deserted road behind the base and after parking, Brown tried to rape her and then threw her mobile phone into the river when she tried to call the police. The Camp Courtney security personnel called the Japanese National Police Agency (NPA). Japanese officers came and took Nakamine's report.Allen, David, "Marine major in Okinawan custody after indictment on sex crime charge", "Okinawa Marine denied bail in alleged attack", and "Filipina testifies to major's innocence".

Michael Brown was at the time 39 years old, was married, had two small children, and was a 19-year Marine veteran assigned to the command element of the III Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Courtney on his second tour on Okinawa. Brown voluntarily underwent several hours of questioning at the JNP station in Gushikawa. He told Japanese police investigators that Nakamine had propositioned him for sex and that, when he refused, a physical altercation ensued.Kyodo, "U.S. Marine handed over to authorities"; Allen, David, "Marine major in Okinawan custody after indictment on sex crime charge", and "Okinawa Marine denied bail in alleged attack"; Jiji Press, "Okinawa Police Get Arrest Warrant for U.S. Marine", December 4, 2002.

During the altercation, Brown said, Nakamine took his wallet and Brown grabbed her mobile phone, which he, "out of frustration", proceeded to toss into the nearby river. Brown stated that Nakamine drove away but returned a few minutes later and gave his wallet back to him. Both Brown's and Nakamine's accounts agreed that Nakamine had originally picked up Brown in her car after meeting him for the first time at the base officers' club that evening. Both stated that Nakamine had agreed to give Brown, who was intoxicated, a ride home.Kyodo, "U.S. Marine handed over to authorities"; Allen, David, "Marine major in Okinawan custody after indictment on sex crime charge", and "Okinawa Marine denied bail in alleged attack"; Jiji Press, "Okinawa Police Get Arrest Warrant for U.S. Marine", December 4, 2002.

On December 3, 2002, the JNP issued a warrant for Brown's arrest. The Japanese government asked that Brown be turned over to Japanese authorities immediately. Although the U.S.–Japan Status of Forces Agreement stated that service members would only be turned over to Japanese law enforcement if formally indicted, the U.S. had agreed to give "sympathetic consideration" for serious crimes in response to the 1995 Okinawan rape incident, in which a U.S. Navy sailor and two Marines raped a 12-year-old Okinawan girl.Japan Times, "Japan wants U.S. Marine handed over"; Allen, David, "Marine major in Okinawan custody after indictment on sex crime charge", and "Okinawa Marine denied bail in alleged attack"; Xinhua News Agency, "Japan demands US hand over Marine on attempted rape charge", December 4, 2002.

The United States, in this case, decided not to turn Brown over to the Japanese authorities before he was formally indicted and restricted Brown to base on Camp Courtney. On December 9, the JNP filed formal charges against Brown and, on December 19, he was formally indicted on charges of attempted rape and destruction of private property. The next day, Brown, escorted by U.S. Marine Corps military police, was turned over to the custody of Japanese police at the Naha detention center. When asked why they had waited ten days after the formal charges to indict Brown, Japanese Deputy Chief Prosecutor Junichi Okumura stated that they wanted to give Brown a chance to apologize (called jidan in Japanese) to the victim. Since that apparently did not occur and Nakamine still expressed a desire to press charges, the Japanese authorities went ahead with the indictment.China Daily, "US Marine officer handed over to Japan", December 20, 2002. p. 12; Kyodo News, "Japan regrets US refusal to hand over Marine, rules out further request", BBC Monitoring, December 6, 2002; Mainichi Shimbun, "U.S. military won't hand over major accused of rape", December 5, 2002, p. 1; Japan Times, "Japan wants U.S. Marine handed over"; Allen, David, "Okinawa Marine denied bail in alleged attack", and "Marine major in Okinawan custody after indictment on sex crime charge", which states: "Jidan is the Japanese custom of apologizing to an injured party regardless of whether guilt is admitted. The carefully worded apologies and monetary compensation go a long way toward convincing judges of the sincerity of a defendant's remorse and often result in reduced sentences in criminal cases, Japanese legal experts have said."

On December 25, Naha District Court judge denied bail for Brown because, "there was concern that he [Brown] might try to destroy evidence or intimidate witnesses if he was set free."Allen, David, "Okinawa Marine denied bail in alleged attack". Ikeda also said that she was concerned over the seriousness of the charges and the large discrepancy between the statements of Brown and Nakamine. Brown was represented at the hearing by a local Japanese defense attorney, . Akamine reported that Brown's family in the United States had begun jidan negotiations with the victim. At this time, Brown's brother also launched a website to protest Brown's detention and to complain about what he perceived to be unfair treatment of Brown by the Japanese courts. Brown later reported that Japanese prison officials "admonished" him over the launching of the protest website by his family.

On January 9, 2003, bail was denied for Brown by the same judge for a second time. Brown then appealed the bail decision to a three-judge panel of the Naha court who upheld the denial of bail on January 16. The Naha court scheduled Brown's trial to begin on March 13, but later changed the date to May 26 because of delays incurred by legal motions filed by Brown's attorneys. The trial was expected to last for some time because, under the procedures of the Japanese justice system, trial hearings are usually only conducted for one or two days a month.Allen, David, "Okinawa Marine denied bail in alleged attack", "Marine again denied bail in Okinawa assault case", and "Court denies bail for Marine major for the third time".

Pre-trial On January 24, Brown hired two new defense attorneys, Michael Griffith and Toshimitsu Takaesu. Griffith was a New York City attorney who had previously represented Marines in Okinawa. Takaesu was a former Okinawa chief prosecutor. Both were described as "outspoken critics of Japan's legal system"."Allen, David, "Marine charged in attempted rape gets new counsel" The first week of March, another attorney hired by Brown filed a habeas corpus petition with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia claiming that the legality of Brown's incarceration was open to question due to what Brown claimed was the inherent unfairness of the Japanese judicial system. The U.S. court dismissed the motion on March 12, citing jurisdictional issues.MacCormack, Zeke, "Marine officer's trial stays in Japan", San Antonio Express-News, March 13, 2003. p. 10A; Kyodo News, "US Marine accused of attempted rape in Japan not to enter plea", BBC Monitoring, March 12, 2003. p. 1; Allen, David, "Marine charged in attempted rape gets new counsel"; "Legal motion disputes Okinawa's claim to Marine", and "Attempted rape case goes to U.S. federal court".

Throughout the trial, Brown wrote numerous public missives about what he felt was the unfairness and corruption of the Japanese justice system and accusing the local Okinawan government of pursuing a political agenda in the prosecution of his case. Brown's letters were posted on his family's website and informally distributed throughout Okinawa's U.S. military population. Brown and his family also wrote many letters to U.S. politicians and government officials complaining of Brown's treatment by Japanese authorities and actively encouraged other U.S. military members and U.S. citizens to do the same.Johnson, Chalmers, "Three Rapes: The Status of Forces Agreement and Okinawa"; "Allen, David, "Marine charged in attempted rape gets new counsel", "Legal motion disputes Okinawa's claim to Marine", and "Attempted rape case goes to U.S. federal court".

On March 13, an Okinawan newspaper reported that the JNP had matched DNA taken from saliva on the victim's upper body with DNA in a blood sample obtained from Brown during the investigation. Brown was again denied bail on March 17. Takaesu blamed the anonymous report about the DNA evidence in the newspaper as the reason for the bail denial and criticized the Naha District Prosecutor's Office for not including the DNA evidence in the evidence list submitted before the trial was scheduled to begin. In reply, Junichi Okumura, a Naha District deputy chief prosecutor stated, "Here in Japan, unlike the United States, there is no problem if evidence is submitted later".Kyodo, "DNA report angers marine's lawyer". Brown was granted a ¥10 million bail (approximately US$100,000, c.2003) by the Naha court on May 13 but he was restricted to Camp Courtney for the duration of the trial.Kyodo, "DNA report angers marine's lawyer", and "U.S. Marine accused of attempted rape is granted bail"; Allen, David, "Okinawa attempted-rape trial put on hold as dismissal motion is weighed", "Brown's lawyers say news leak led to denial of bail request", and "Filipina testifies to major's innocence".