The wife of a US Navy lieutenant who was jailed for three years in Japan for killing two pedestrians after suffering a medical episode says she plans to stay in Washington DC “as long as it takes” to secure his release.
Brittany Alkonis called on President Joe Biden to intervene after exhausting legal efforts to prove her husband Ridge Alkonis had been denied a fair trial.
“This is really about my kids, while it is hard for us, the ones really paying the price for this and for the alliance and politics are my kids,” she told Fox News.
The Navy officer and Mormon missionary’s nightmare began when he was returning from a hike on Mount Fuji with his wife and two children in May 2021, days before he was about to begin a deployment on the USS Benfold.
Mr Alkonis, 34, lost consciousness at the wheel and struck several parked cars, that then hit and killed an elderly Japanese woman and her son-in-law.
Brittany Alkonis told Fox News her husband had started to feel nauseous and passed out mid-conversation with his daughter prior to the crash. There were no drugs or alcohol involved, and he had only been driving at 25mph.
His lawyers provided evidence in court that he was diagnosed with acute from altitude sickness.
His family agreed to pay $1.65m and apologise to the victim’s families, at the advice of their attorney, who told them that the Japanese custom of showing remorse usually results in a lenient sentence under.
However, the judge rejected their appeal and imposed a three-year sentence earlier this year. Mr Alkonis reported for prison to begin his sentence last month.
Utah Senator Mike Lee said the Japanese judicial system was “trying to make an example of Lt Alkonis” in a speech in Congress last month.
“I find it inexcusable that an American who experienced a medical emergency be treated so poorly by an allied Nation that he protected.”
California Congressman Mike Levin said he was “deeply concerned about the Japanese government’s handling of the case” in a speech on the House floor.
Ms Alkonis told Fox News she hoped the backing of the lawmakers meant that the “momentum was starting to shift in our direction”.
She said she would travel to DC to try to secure a meeting with Mr Biden or National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
“I will stay there as long as it takes,” she told Fox News.
The 1960 Status of Forces Agreement requires Japan to release US military members to US custody unless they can prove “adequate cause and necessity” to hold them.
It has become a point of contention between the close allies because of incidents in which US service members have committed violent crimes against Japanese nationals and were discharged from the military rather than serving jail time.
Ms Alkonis said she would never stop trying to secure her husband’s release.
“It is important for the kids to see we are fighting for justice. We aren’t asking for special treatment, we just want to be treated as any Japanese national would be treated.”
