European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 25, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday March 2007 stars and s trip e s Page 3 Road tax base decal driving rights now pay up by Chris Fowler stars and stripes Yokosuka naval base Japan its that special time of year once again when crowds Admire the Cherry blossoms and foreigners minds turn to romantic thoughts of Road tax each Spring Japan collects a tax used to help defray the Cost of maintaining the roads from owners of All private vehicles and that includes defense department personnel taxes Are proportional to engine size the bigger the engine the higher the tax for first timers paying up can seem daunting the thought of going to the local municipal office scares Many especially if they dont speak the language but a Little planning ahead and having paperwork in order makes the pro Cess simple and de sense department people dont even have to go off base bases in Mainland Japan and Okinawa have set Days and locations for people to pay their Road taxes own ers who Are temporarily out of the country or just cant make it can have someone else handle it with no need for granting Power of attorney off base taxes Are typically collected at municipal offices decoding the plate the Small numbers above the larger numbers on japanese License plates denote the size of the vehicle and annual Road taxes Are charged accordingly a 500 series is a regular car defined As less than 47 meters Long less than 17 meters wide or less than 2 meters in photo illustrations by Christopher b and stripes Road tax season also coincides with the expiration Date of base decals which have their own special requirements obtaining new decals requires presenting the following items proof of payment of your 2007 Road tax a  Drivers License liability insurance japanese compulsory insurance a current base inspection Sheet for your car japanese vehicle title military vehicle registration certificate of title of motor vehicle do form a valid sofa id card a valid parking certificate if and motorists whom japanese police have cited for traffic violations must pay fines before they can get a base decal according to Mamoru Hasegawa the chief Liaison officer Between Yokosuka a 400 series is an Sun or Small work truck and a 100 series is a Large truck letters before the Large num Bers on plates also have meaning an a is a f height it also has an engine Dis Banks and Post offices placement of less than 2000cc failure to pay the tax can result in in anything larger is considered a wanted attention from 3qq car and is taxed higher japanese and military police including vehicle impoundment and denial of base Access we use Road tax season As a Chance to verify that every one has All their paperwork up to Date said it Mark Smigel ski a Yokosuka naval base Security officer military and japanese police the vehicle registration office maintains a list of service members and sofa sponsored civilians with unresolved japanese traffic citations some people think they can get away with not paying the 15000 yen for a parking ticket Smi Gelski said i had one per son who had 13 unpaid tickets owners of More than one vehicle also must get decals for All of them at the same time Smigelski said that is to prevent people from leaving one or More vehicles off the books with outstanding Road tax owed or with big motorcycle while a b is a Small motorcycle an e Means the owner imported the vehicle to Japan while a y the most common letter found on vehicles on Mili tary bases Means the vehicle was bought in Japan by an owner in the country under the status of forces agreement email Chris Fowler at when and where to pay this years Road tax Misawa air base Road taxes can be paid april 1620 in the Moku Teki Community Center ballroom vehicle owners pay on the Day corresponding to the first letter of their last name a to e april 16 f to l april 17 m to r april 18 s to z april 19 times Are 8 am to 4 pm april 16 to 19 and 8 am to 3 pm on april 20 which is a makeup Day Call the pass and registration office at Dan 2263995 for More information Yokosuka naval base Ike go housing area representatives of the Kanagawa tax office will collect this years Road tax on base at the Fleet theater March 29 and 30 9 am to pm and april 910 and 139 am to am Negishi housing area Road tax for vehicles can be paid at the Negishi morale welfare and recreation classroom in building 19045 on april 24 and 259 am to am and pm to pm Marine corps air station Iwakuni residents can pay Road taxes april 230 japanese tax officials will be on station april 1113 at the Provost marshals office pass and registration Sec Tion Casebo naval base residents can pay taxes april 1719 from am to am and from 1 pm through pm at the Security training building no 340 behind the main Security building Yokota air base Road tax collection begins april 1 with Walkin service at the pass and registration office from 8 am to pm special payment sessions will be held at the Taiyo recreation Center april 1620 for regular four wheeled vehicles and april 1920 for mini cars and motorcycles times have not been announced those unable to make it to the Taiyo May bring All paperwork current Sci and liability insurance policies to pass and registration a Road tax slip will be issued and regular vehicle Road taxes May be paid at an of base Bank or Post office mini car and motorcycle owners May pay at Fussa or Musashi Murayama City Hall after payment people must Stop by the pass and registration office with the receipt and ownership paperwork to pick up a new Usaj decal Cam Zama taxes can be paid april 36 at the Camp Zama Community clubs fire Lite lounge from 911 am and pm daily sessions Are broken Down by the last names of vehicle owners april 3 a through april 4 f through april 5 l through april 6 s through z As Well As motorcycles and mini cars with yellow otherwise taxes must be paid of Post in the Sagami land transportation office or the office on route 51 stars and stripes no charges filed yet in Guam Sailor shootings by Vince Little stars and stripes a us Sailor being held in connection with the March 15 shooting of two others in his unit has not been charged but the investigation is continuing a us naval base Guam spokesman said thursday one Sailor was killed while another was in stable condition after surgery at us naval Hospital Guam All three were members of naval Mobile construction battalion 74 a Seabee unit deployed from Gulf port miss it Donnell Evans said the naval criminal investigative service is conducting its investigation and As of right now no formal charges have been filed the suspect who Hast been identified remained in custody in the Brig at Andersen air Force base Guam once formal charges Are filed that when i can re lease the name of the Sailor in custody Evans said acis is trying to figure out what the facts Are in this Case As they continue the investigation he said Petty officer 2nd class Jared Krutke 25 of Sheboygan wis was shot and later died following the incident which occurred at about am at Camp Covington a military area inside us naval base Guam in Santa Rita the Navy has tentative plans to Fly his body Back to the United states on monday the wounded sailors name also Hast been re leased out of privacy concerns for that service member Evans said adding he could not discuss the nature of his injuries Evans declined to provide any More details or circumstances about the shooting citing the ongoing investigation the construction battalion dispatched to Guam in october is scheduled to leave in april the Pacific daily news reported the Seabee provide military construction support to the Navy Marine corps and other forces in times of emergency the battalion conducts disaster control and recovery operations the Navy said email Vince Little at us military part of australian air show us military aircraft and personnel from Japan Oki Nawa and Hawaii Are part of the american exposition this weekend at the 2007 australian International air show according to a 13th air Force news release issued thursday the six Day event at Avalon Airport in Southern Australia is the country largest air show Gen Paul v Hester the Pacific air forces commander took part in a ribbon cutting ceremony wednesday to open the us exhibit members of the army Navy air Force and marines will appear before an audience of australian and Pacific Region defense leaders government officials and the Public the release stated the show features displays showcasing air Force his tory and capabilities aircraft from several Pacific command bases also have been rolled out they include f16s from Misawa air base Japan f15s and an e3 from Kadena air base Okinawa a c17 from Hickam air Force base Hawaii and from Carrier air Wing 5 at naval air facility Katsugi Japan Sailor suspected of smashing window Yokosuka naval base Japan a japanese prosecutors office is considering charging a uss John s Mccain Sailor arrested for smashing a train station window a Kanagawa prefectural police spokesman said Petty officer 3rd class Daniel James Weidig 24 allegedly punched and broke a Glass window at mis Kiguchi Sta Tion on the Seikyu line at about am last sunday the spokesman said Weidig appeared to be drunk when he was arrested that morning on suspicion of destruction of property the value of the window was set at about from staff reports