Utah Sen. Mike Lee delivered an ultimatum via Twitter to the Japanese government to return an imprisoned Navy officer to the United States.
In a series of tweets on his personal account, the Republican senator demanded that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida free Lt. Ridge Alkonis by the end of February or face having Congress reevaluate the U.S. security agreement with Japan.
“Japan (I’m talking to you, @kishida230): U.S. Navy Lt. Ridge Alkonis needs to be back on U.S. soil no later than 11:59 pm EST on February 28, 2023,” Lee tweeted early Thursday.
Lee said if Alkonis is not on U.S. soil by then, he and others would make sure “America knows what a good security arrangement you have with the U.S., what you did to one of the best and brightest our military has to offer, and what we should do about it.”
“Let’s face it, @kishida230, you’ve got a really good security arrangement with the United States, and you’ve had the luxury of not having that arrangement discussed or seriously questioned in Congress for a long time. That’s about to change,” Lee tweeted.
“Why would you rock the boat by throwing one of our best and brightest in prison for three years — all because of a car accident that, tragic as it was, resulted from a non-foreseeable medical emergency.”
Alkonis was convicted of negligent driving in the deaths of an 85-year-old Japanese woman and her 54-year-old son-in-law on May 29, 2021, while the Alkonis family was driving down Mount Fuji after a day trip.
A Japanese judge determined Alkonis had fallen asleep at the wheel and lost control of his vehicle, which plowed into pedestrians and parked cars in a restaurant parking lot two hours from Yokosuka Naval Base, where he was serving as anti-submarine warfare officer.
But U.S. Navy investigators determined that Alkonis suffered from acute mountain sickness and lost consciousness. His wife and children said that he was not sleepy and appeared to black out. They said that once he passed out, he was unresponsive to their screams and one daughter’s kicks. He remained unconscious even during the crash itself.
Alkonis started serving a three-year prison sentence in July.
Kishida met with President Joe Biden at the White House last month to discuss North Korea, Ukraine and China’s tensions with Taiwan.
Biden told Kishida that the U.S. was “fully, thoroughly, completely” committed to Japan’s defense and praised Tokyo’s security buildup, saying the nations had never been closer, according to Reuters. In a joint statement, the two leaders reaffirmed that the alliance remains the cornerstone of peace, security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific.
The U.S. has about 55,000 troops stationed in Japan at more than half a dozen bases and other facilities.
In a YouTube video, Lee says that though Japan and the U.S. both benefit from the relationship, “this is a really good deal for them.”
But by putting Alkonis in prison and ignoring requests to return him to the U.S., Japan has called attention to the relationship, “and if they want to draw attention to it, they might not like where that leads. Once people start talking about how it’s “lopsided” and how Japan treats Americans, particularly the Alkonis family, “they might not like the outcome. It’s better that they solve this up front.”
Lee tweeted ahead of the summit that Kishida needed to have Alkonis with him when he arrived in Washington. Alkonis’ wife, Brittany, and family members demonstrated on Capitol Hill during the talks, urging Biden to seek the lieutenant’s release. But it’s unclear if the case came up.
Prior to the White House meeting, Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., who is also advocating for Alkonis’ release, said he has been in regular communication with the State Department as it engages the Japanese government to initiate a formal prisoner transfer process.
“These are incredibly sensitive negotiations, and we are confident that the Biden administration will continue to do everything in its power to bring Lt. Alkonis home,” Levin said, as reported in Stars and Stripes.
Lee called on Kishida to end the “standoff” over Alkonis.
“You’ve made whatever point you wanted to make by imprisoning him and claiming (quite misleadingly) that you’re treating him the same as you would a Japanese national. You’ve made your point poorly and counterproductively, but whatever — it’s time to bring your standoff to an end,” the senator tweeted.
Lee said he and others have remained “relatively quiet” over the situation hoping the prime minister would do the right thing.
“I still hold out hope that you will. But my approach to all of this is about to change,” he said.
“And make no mistake, it will change if Lt. Alkonis isn’t back on U.S. soil by 11:59 pm EST on February 28, 2023.”
Lee said it’s time for a candid discussion about “what you did” to Alkonis and his family and time to heal “this senseless wound.” He said he is grateful for the relationship the U.S. and Japan has enjoyed, and asks Kishida to not “weaken it as you have” by imprisoning Alkonis.