US senator demands Japanese prime minister release US Navy officer

WASHINGTON (AA) - Sen. Mike Lee demanded that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida return an imprisoned Navy officer to the United States.

The senator from the state of Utah wrote to Kishida late Monday on Twitter, urging him to “please remand Lt. Ridge Alkonis to the custody of the U.S. Navy within the next 48 hours.”

“If you do so, I’m willing to forget all about this unfortunate incident. If not, we’re going to have a long series of conversations about the SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) that you will not enjoy,” he added.

Alkonis was convicted of a deadly traffic accident in 2021 that caused the death of an 85-year-old Japanese woman and her 54-year-old son-in-law.

He was sentenced to three years in prison in Japan as his family urged the Biden administration to help free the US Navy officer.

Alkonis said he was suffering from “acute mountain sickness” as he was returning from a visit to Mount Fuji with his family May 29, 2021.

He said he fell unconscious behind the wheel, citing the reason for the accident.

But the Japanese high court did not believe Alkonis had lost consciousness due to altitude sickness.