The Pentagon has reportedly dismissed a senior U.S. Marine Corps official in Okinawa following the leak of on-base surveillance video to a Japanese neo-nationalist group.
According to Japanese media, Robert Eldridge, deputy assistant chief of staff of government and external affairs, lost his job over the unauthorized release of footage from a security camera located within the marines' Camp Schwab base in Nago city, northeastern Okinawa. The leaked film, which showed the arrest of Okinawan peace campaigner Hiroji Yamashiro last month, was uploaded to YouTube on March 9.
In response to inquiries from journalists in Okinawa, a U.S. Marine Corps spokesman initially denied the footage had been leaked. However, on March 14 the military admitted the video had been released without authorization and pledged to punish the party involved.