Sex And Race In Okinawa

U.S. SERVICEMEN AND LOCAL WOMEN CAN BE A VOLATILE MIX. A RAPE ALLEGATION AGAINST AN AIRMAN CASTS HARSH LIGHT ON THE ISLAND'S RACE RELATIONS

Timothy Woodland is in a grave predicament. The 6-ft. 4-in., 24-year-old Air Force staff sergeant sits in a jail cell in Okinawa, Japan. He goes on trial next month in a proceeding that could last as long as a year. He has already been through Japan's standard detention period--15 days in his case but sometimes as long as 23--during which a suspect is questioned without the presence of a lawyer. Denied bail, Woodland can comfort himself with English-language books, a Bible and American-style meals but no cigarettes, TV or air conditioning in heat that often tops 100[degrees]F. He isn't allowed to...

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