Consultations regarding abandonment after pregnancy, domestic violence, language barriers, and other issues involving dating and marriage to U.S. military personnel and base workers on the rise, dating apps play a role

Consultations regarding abandonment after pregnancy, domestic violence, language barriers, and other issues involving dating and marriage to U.S. military personnel and base workers on the rise, dating apps play a role

A woman seeking consult, saying, “I couldn’t solve the problem all on my own,” in April, in Okinawa


April 23, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Yoshinori Takada

There have been countless incidents of problems relating to relationships with and marriages to U.S. military personnel and base workers.

In 2018, 87 people consulted with Women’s Pride, an NPO that provides consultation relating to problems between men and women in international relationships; this is roughly nine times the number of consultations the NPO had in the year it was established.

Some of the cases involved domestic violence and serious situations that could have become life-threatening. “Dating and marrying a member of the military is more difficult than we imagine.

I would like to see [women] enter into relationships with knowledge of the military and good [English] language skills,” says Women’s Pride representative Misaki Smith, 42.

In 2007, when the NPO was established, it received eight in-person consultations and two telephone consultations–a total of 10.

Its work gradually gained recognition, and in 2011 there were 30 consultations.

In the last three years, there have been more than 50 consultations per year just by people living in Okinawa.

Smith says the group is also increasingly sending counselors outside Okinawa to consult with people living in the Kanto area, Nagasaki, and other places where U.S. bases are located.

Smith says that increased use of dating apps and matching apps on smartphones is one factor behind the rise in consultations.

She says there are also malicious cases in which temporarily stationed military personnel return to their home country after getting a woman pregnant.

Divorce, requests for child support, and other procedures involving the military present many difficulties, such as the need to prepare Japanese and English translations of documents.

In cases of domestic violence or other life-threatening situations, it is possible to request that the U.S. military issue a Military Protective Order prohibiting the person in question from contacting or getting near the woman, but Smith says that many women who come to her for consultation are not aware of this.

There are also very few organizations offering consultation services.

“I want people to seek help as soon as there’s a problem,” says Smith.

The group’s homepage is http://okinawawomenspride.blogspot.com.

(English translation by T&CT and Sandi Aritza)

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