Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-06-06
Japanese Justice

expediency dictated the decision to turn
an American soldier, William S. Girard,
over to the japanese authorities for trial
But it is carrying things pretty far to
charge the administration with selling
American servicemen down the river"
There is little dispute about the facts
In the Girard case. Japanese woman
was killed last January 80 when hit in
the back by an empty rifle shell case
fired by Girard from his rifle grenade
launcher. The woman was going away,
and about 80 yards distant, when struck.
Some witnesses stated, but Girard denied,
that empty shell cases had been thrown
out to entice the japanese to approach
CThe woman was Scavenging for used
cases when hit.)
At the time, Girard was on duty in
the sense that he had been ordered to
guard machine gun. He was not author
lied to fire his grenade launcher, and
he has said that he merely intended
to brighten the woman away. The COM
manding general of Girard's division GER
titled, however, that the soldiers action
was in performance of official duty, and
If this is correct he is entitled under the
statuS-of-forceS agreement with Japan
TO be tried by court-martial, and not by
the Japanese courts.
There followed a protracted wrangle
between American and Japanese author
tiles, with the latter insisting that they
had primary jurisdiction in the case. In
a series of meetings of the Joint United
StateS-Japan Committee, set up to decide
such disputes, the American representa-
tlveS commended that the American Army
authorities had primary jurisdiction.
Finally the matter was referred back
to Washington. The Department of De-
tense instructed the American represent
atives on the joint committee to press
the claim for American Jurisdiction, but
he was also authorized, in event of a
continued deadlock, to waive jurisdiction
to Japan. After three more weeks of nego-
tiation, jurisdiction was waived on Nav
Is. The statement which has been issued
by Secretaries Wilson and Dulles says
that in view of this completed" action
(it does not say the action was correct),
any attempt to prolong the dispute would
create situation which could basically
0AASSO OAAOC0 ObolCo 4CAdblOIlS IlOI OIlly
with Japan but also with many other
nations
1t is this statement which suggests
that the May Is decision to yield juris-
diction was an expedent one, designed to
maintain good relations with Japan re-
CARELESS Of our earlier insiStence that
Girard acted in the performance Of off,
cial duty and therefore should be tried
by court-martial
1t is worth noting, however, that
Japan, in the overwhelming majority"
of the cases in which it had primary right
to try American personnel, has waived
that right in favor Of American action.
1t is also worth remembering that the
real question is whether Girard will get
fair trial in the Japanese courts.
If he is fairly tried, and American
observers will be there to watch, we do
not think it is reasonable to charge that
the waiver Of jurisdiction in this instance,
when balanced against the many Jap
anese waivers, justifies any accusation
that our Servicemen are being sold down
the river. If enough Congressman think
otherwise, however, the remedy is to
repeal or modify the status-of forces
agreement.