Zushi, a popular beach near Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, is pictured on March 22, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOSUKA, Japan — Four years after a U.S. sailor injured four people at a beach south of Tokyo, the victims have received about half of their court-ordered compensation from the U.S. government, while Japan is expected to cover the rest, according to their attorney.
The U.S. paid the victims about $53,500 on Aug. 12, attorney Masahiko Goto told Stars and Stripes by phone Monday. They are still owed another $50,000, he said. The amount they receive is based on the severity of their injuries.
The payment was made ex gratia, meaning voluntarily and without an admission of liability or legal obligation, U.S. Forces Japan spokesman Air Force Col. John Severns said by email Monday.
“The Government of Japan may also provide separate assistance or payments under its own procedures, as it determines appropriate,” he wrote.
The compensation stems from a July 2022 incident at Zushi Beach, where Petty Officer 2nd Class Daniel Krieger, then a logistics specialist aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Milius, charged into and injured a group of people.
A Japanese court convicted Krieger in September 2024 on four counts of bodily injury and sentenced him to two years and four months in prison, suspended for four years.
In a separate civil lawsuit, the Yokohama District Court in April 2025 awarded the four victims approximately $103,811 in damages. Individual payments ranged from about $3,300 to $67,000.
By then, however, Krieger had left Japan without paying the judgment, Goto said.
Krieger, still a petty officer second class, reported in December 2024 to Fleet Readiness Center Southwest in San Diego, according to a biography provided Friday by U.S. Naval Forces Japan spokesman Cmdr. Joseph Keiley.
The victims could pursue Krieger through U.S. courts but were uncertain whether they could collect the money even if successful, Goto said.
Instead, they sought compensation through Japan’s South Kanto Defense Bureau under procedures associated with the U.S.-Japan status of forces agreement, which governs the rights and responsibilities of U.S. military personnel in Japan.
The victims filed another claim Wednesday seeking the approximately $50,000 that remains unpaid, Goto said. He expects Japan to provide the money by the end of the year.
A defense bureau declined to discuss the case by phone Friday, citing privacy concerns, but said compensation claims are handled in accordance with the SOFA.
“The claims for damages filed by the four victims have finally moved significantly closer to resolution after four years,” Goto said.
He criticized how long the process took and questioned why Krieger was allowed to leave Japan without paying the judgment.
Goto also questioned why the U.S. paid only about half the damages, leaving Japan to “shoulder the remainder,” he said in a statement emailed Friday.