The burning workboat in Haneji Inland Sea, Okinawa Prefecture, on 25 November 2024.
The Paris Public Prosecutor’s office is officially investigating three allegations against four French army cadets suspected of involvement in the fire aboard a workboat in Haneji Inland Sea, northern Okinawa Island, in November 2024. The allegations are destruction or damage by dangerous means; removal of evidence with the intent to obstruct the establishment of the truth; and aggravated theft. Although the cadets returned to France in December 2024 without reporting their involvement in the incident to Japanese police or their own superior officers, they have now admitted attempting to explore the boat and inadvertently setting it on fire. Details of the case were revealed to this newspaper in an email from the spokesperson of the Paris Public Prosecutor on 27 January.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the four cadets were members of the Saint-Cyr Military Academy, considered France’s most elite army academy, who had been studying at the National Defense Academy in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture. Although the prosecutor stated that the cadets had boarded the boat “during their free time”, the email is not clear whether their visit to Okinawa occurred while on official duty.
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The Paris prosecutor outlined the timeline of the investigation:
25 August 2025. At a press conference with Japan’s Minister of Defense Nakatani Gen, a reporter mentioned that French military personnel were implicated in the fire; this prompted the French army to request a report from the cadets under scrutiny.
29 September 2025. The Chief of Staff of the French Army notified the information obtained from the cadets to the Paris Prosecutor’s Office.
24 October 2025. The Paris Prosecutor’s Office opened a formal judicial investigation, a step only taken in serious criminal cases, into the four cadets on allegations of destruction or damage by dangerous means, removal of evidence with the intent to obstruct the establishment of the truth, and aggravated theft.
In a 28 January email to this newspaper, the prosecutor’s office declined to comment on specific details of the investigation or provide an estimate of when it would decide whether to take the case to trial. On 2 February, the French Embassy in Japan, also declined comment, citing “ongoing legal proceedings.” Likewise, at a press conference on 29 January, Sakamoto Seishiro, chief of the 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters, stated, “This is an individual case, so I will refrain from commenting. The investigation is still ongoing.”
In contrast, on 25 January, a spokesperson for the French Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs told this newspaper by email, “Regarding the disciplinary action, measures will indeed be taken, and the procedures are still underway.”
The incident coincides with increased scrutiny of the activities of non-Japanese military personnel in Okinawa Prefecture. The islands host 31 exclusive-use American bases; in 2025, US service members, their dependents or civilian employees committed at least 101 criminal offenses, the highest number in 22 years. In recent years, too, the US Marine Corps has trained UK and Dutch troops in the prefecture – apparently without notifying the Japanese government.
Additional reporting by Toyoshima Tetsuhiro.
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