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Cabbie sues jailed ex-sailor over broken nose

YOKOHAMA, Japan — A taxi driver in Yokohama filed a damages suit Wednesday against the Japanese government and a former petty officer second class in the Navy, arguing that he sustained serious injuries when he was attacked by the former sailor.

Iwao Tabata, 62, is seeking a total of around 11 million yen ($102,277) in compensation from the state and Brandon Paul Booker, 23, who is serving a 14-month prison term.

According to the complaint filed with the Yokohama District Court, Booker, of Albany, Ind., then a crew member of the Navy’s 7th Fleet flagship, the command ship Blue Ridge, refused to pay a taxi fare to Tabata near JR Yokohama Station on the morning of Sept. 17, 2006, and punched him in the face, breaking his nose.

“The U.S. forces’ restrictions on late-evening drinking and outings by their personnel were insufficient,” Tabata said.