A U.S. Marine in his 20s is facing criminal charges including allegedly raping a woman last month in a restroom of an American military base in Japan’s Okinawa, investigative sources said Wednesday.
The Okinawa prefectural police referred the case to prosecutors on April 7, the sources said, adding the suspect is also accused of injuring another woman who tried to rescue the victim, who was a resident of Okinawa and a civilian worker at the base.
The Japanese police, with cooperation from the U.S. side, launched an investigation at the base and questioned the Marine on a voluntary basis, the sources said.
The suspect was under control of U.S. authorities in line with the bilateral Status of Forces Agreement, which governs the operations of the U.S. military in Japan.
Three U.S. service members have been indicted over as many alleged sexual violence cases since June last year in Okinawa, the southern prefecture that hosts the bulk of American military facilities in the country.
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki, in reaction to the latest sexual assault case, said, “It is very deplorable. We’ll strongly urge the U.S. military to take measures that would be effective to prevent a similar incident.”
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass said in a statement that he is “deeply concerned at the reports of alleged incidents involving U.S. service members.”
“We deeply value the ties of trust and friendship we have built over many decades with our Japanese hosts, and I am committed to doing everything I can to prevent actions that may jeopardize these bonds,” said the envoy, who arrived in the Asian country last week.
On Friday last week, the U.S. military and local police carried out a joint patrol in entertainment districts in the city of Okinawa as part of efforts to prevent sexual crimes involving American military personnel.
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AloJapan.com