KConnor56
08-31-2002, 10:11 AM
The military pays for their expenses so it's nobodys business, plus I know what the govenment call steak, & it's not what you or I call steak, LOL.-----Ken
Jailed American GIs Eat Steak.
TOKYO (AP) - In one cell block, dinner is a heaping plate of steak, potatoes, dessert and fruit. In the others, it's rice, miso soup and boiled fish - and about half the calories.
For decades, American GIs who have gone afoul of the law have gotten special treatment in the one Japanese prison responsible for housing them, and a few Japanese lawmakers want to do something about it."American inmates here get things like steak and cakes, and Japanese inmates rarely do," said Satoshi Inoue, a communist lawmaker who raised the issue at a recent parliamentary hearing. "It's unfair. All inmates should get the same food and the same portions."Such special consideration - especially when the beneficiary is a convict - has long rankled with some Japanese. And it points to a deep-seated antipathy felt by many toward the American troops stationed in Japan.Tens of thousands of U.S. military personnel have been stationed in Japan for a half century under a security pact that has been widely applauded by both sides for maintaining stability in Asia.Under the agreement, GIs have some special privileges. They are exempt from most customs and import taxes, and are permitted to drive cars with a U.S. license. On-duty American soldiers who break the law in Japan are tried by a U.S. military court. The treatment of GIs before trial became a major issue last summer, when the delayed handover by U.S. authorities of an American airman accused of raping a Japanese woman in Okinawa triggered criticism that the U.S. forces had too much authority on Japanese soil. But to some, the worst example is the difference in prison treatment. Yokosuka Prison, about 50 miles south of Tokyo, holds U.S. military personnel convicted of breaking Japanese laws are held. Only 20 American GIs are currently held. The United States supplies food for all American military personnel at the prison. The arrangement, drawn up after Japan's World War II defeat, was meant to ensure the welfare of U.S. troops imprisoned at a time when food shortages were common. Japanese officials now view the meals as too lavish. They say it's unfair that the American inmates get about 50 percent more calories a day than Japanese inmates. "We think the special meals for American inmates should be scaled back and, eventually, eliminated," said Justice Ministry official Jun Aoyama, According to the U.S. Forces Japan public affairs office, the meals "meet U.S. nutritional requirements" and are identical to those given to inmates in military prisons at home."It is not, however, 'better' than food served other Japanese prisoners, only different in order to take into consideration the cultural differences of the prisoners," the office said in an e-mail response to questions from The Associated Press. While Tokyo and Washington are in no hurry to change the overall pact, the prison issue is already seeing some changes. Five years ago, Yasuo Ogata, another Communist Party lawmaker, complained that American inmates had 10 p.m. curfews, daily showers and heated cells in winter, while Japanese inmates took only two baths per week, had a 9 p.m. curfew and slept in cold, dank cells. The American privileges were revoked, and Yokosuka prison officials say all 224 inmates are treated equally with allowances made for cultural differences. All healthy inmates, for instance, are expected to work, from dawn to dusk, in print or metal shops or doing prison-related chores. Inspections are frequent and discipline strict. However, Americans are given beds instead of the floor mats Japanese inmates sleep on. They can also choose from thousands of English-language books in the prison library and broadcasts of the U.S. military radio network are piped into their cells every night. Not everyone thinks the battle over food is worthwhile."I've seen what the Americans eat. I prefer the Japanese food. It looks much tastier," said Hitoshi Kimura, a Yokosuka Prison spokesman.
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Jailed American GIs Eat Steak.
TOKYO (AP) - In one cell block, dinner is a heaping plate of steak, potatoes, dessert and fruit. In the others, it's rice, miso soup and boiled fish - and about half the calories.
For decades, American GIs who have gone afoul of the law have gotten special treatment in the one Japanese prison responsible for housing them, and a few Japanese lawmakers want to do something about it."American inmates here get things like steak and cakes, and Japanese inmates rarely do," said Satoshi Inoue, a communist lawmaker who raised the issue at a recent parliamentary hearing. "It's unfair. All inmates should get the same food and the same portions."Such special consideration - especially when the beneficiary is a convict - has long rankled with some Japanese. And it points to a deep-seated antipathy felt by many toward the American troops stationed in Japan.Tens of thousands of U.S. military personnel have been stationed in Japan for a half century under a security pact that has been widely applauded by both sides for maintaining stability in Asia.Under the agreement, GIs have some special privileges. They are exempt from most customs and import taxes, and are permitted to drive cars with a U.S. license. On-duty American soldiers who break the law in Japan are tried by a U.S. military court. The treatment of GIs before trial became a major issue last summer, when the delayed handover by U.S. authorities of an American airman accused of raping a Japanese woman in Okinawa triggered criticism that the U.S. forces had too much authority on Japanese soil. But to some, the worst example is the difference in prison treatment. Yokosuka Prison, about 50 miles south of Tokyo, holds U.S. military personnel convicted of breaking Japanese laws are held. Only 20 American GIs are currently held. The United States supplies food for all American military personnel at the prison. The arrangement, drawn up after Japan's World War II defeat, was meant to ensure the welfare of U.S. troops imprisoned at a time when food shortages were common. Japanese officials now view the meals as too lavish. They say it's unfair that the American inmates get about 50 percent more calories a day than Japanese inmates. "We think the special meals for American inmates should be scaled back and, eventually, eliminated," said Justice Ministry official Jun Aoyama, According to the U.S. Forces Japan public affairs office, the meals "meet U.S. nutritional requirements" and are identical to those given to inmates in military prisons at home."It is not, however, 'better' than food served other Japanese prisoners, only different in order to take into consideration the cultural differences of the prisoners," the office said in an e-mail response to questions from The Associated Press. While Tokyo and Washington are in no hurry to change the overall pact, the prison issue is already seeing some changes. Five years ago, Yasuo Ogata, another Communist Party lawmaker, complained that American inmates had 10 p.m. curfews, daily showers and heated cells in winter, while Japanese inmates took only two baths per week, had a 9 p.m. curfew and slept in cold, dank cells. The American privileges were revoked, and Yokosuka prison officials say all 224 inmates are treated equally with allowances made for cultural differences. All healthy inmates, for instance, are expected to work, from dawn to dusk, in print or metal shops or doing prison-related chores. Inspections are frequent and discipline strict. However, Americans are given beds instead of the floor mats Japanese inmates sleep on. They can also choose from thousands of English-language books in the prison library and broadcasts of the U.S. military radio network are piped into their cells every night. Not everyone thinks the battle over food is worthwhile."I've seen what the Americans eat. I prefer the Japanese food. It looks much tastier," said Hitoshi Kimura, a Yokosuka Prison spokesman.
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