Stars & Stripes
NAHA, Okinawa — A Japanese court handed a U.S. Navy contractor a six-month suspended sentence for possessing a small amount of marijuana after smoking with a coworker.
Tyrome Williams Jr., 28, of Urasoe, pleaded guilty Thursday in Naha District Court to violating Japan’s Cannabis Control Act. He was found with less than 2 grams of the drug in his wife’s vehicle in the Miyagi district of Chatan town on Sept. 21.
Even simple marijuana possession can bring up to five years in prison under Japan’s Cannabis Control Act.
Williams was working as a contractor performing administrative duties for U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa at the time of his arrest, hospital spokesman Trey Savitz said by email Wednesday.
When questioned by his attorney, Williams said he decided to use the drug “to relieve stress.”
“I was taking a new job, probably — I passed the test for that,” he said in court. “It was stressful. Also, living as a foreigner here — it was a kind of rough time.”
A coworker influenced Williams’ decision to obtain and use marijuana, according to the prosecutor.
“At the time, I was leaving soon,” Williams said in his testimony. “And I thought, ‘Why not?’”
Williams obtained approximately $133 worth of cannabis through a drug trafficker, the prosecutor said.
Williams and his coworker smoked the marijuana and liquid cannabis at a park in Chatan town, the prosecutor said. They were questioned by a police patrolman after returning to the car.
The officer arrested Williams after finding marijuana, liquid cannabis and rolling papers inside the vehicle. He was transferred to an Okinawa police station, where he was detained for about 10 days.
“If I could go back again, I would do everything differently,” Williams said in his final statement.
Prosecutors sought six months in prison with hard labor, while Williams’ attorney requested a suspended sentence.
Judge Takashi Kato handed down the suspended sentence after a brief recess. Williams’ sentence is suspended for three years, meaning he must serve the six months in prison if he commits another offense in Japan during that time.
Kato said several factors influenced his decision, including the small quantity of marijuana, Williams’ remorse, and his wife’s commitment to supporting him in avoiding future drug use.
