US military says probing new rape case in Japan
TOKYO (AFP) — The US military and Japanese police said Thursday they were investigating new allegations of rape by a US serviceman in Okinawa amid uproar after a string of criminal cases.
The case was revealed one day after the US military imposed a sweeping curfew on troops and their families in a bid to stem public anger in Japan, a close US ally.
A Filipina woman reported to police that she was raped by a member of the US Army in Okinawa, the southern island which is home to half of the more than 40,000 US troops in Japan, officials said.
The incident allegedly occurred at a hotel in the city of Okinawa on February 18, a local police officer said.
The Filipina woman was injured and is receiving medical treatment at a hospital, the officer said.
"We are investigating the case carefully," the police officer said, adding that the soldier was in US military custody.
US Army spokeswoman Dottie Vick said the military took the matter "very seriously."
"Army authorities are investigating and will continue to fully cooperate with the Okinawa prefectural police," she said, declining further details.
US troops are stationed in Japan under a security treaty with the country, which has been constitutionally pacifist since World War II.
Okinawa, which was under US occupation until 1972, is a key hub due to its proximity to the Taiwan Strait.
The alleged rape was the latest case this month to damage the image of US forces in Japan.
In the most serious previous case, Okinawa police on February 11 arrested a US Marine on allegations he raped a 14-year-old local girl in his car.
Staff Sergeant Tyrone Luther Hadnott, 38, has admitted trying to forcibly kiss the teenager but denied raping her.
Christopher Hill, US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, voiced "great regret" over recent incidents during a visit to Tokyo.
Lieutenant General Bruce Wright, commander of the US forces in Japan, said in a meeting with Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba that he felt "terrible" about the 14-year-old's alleged rape, according to a Japanese official who attended the talks.
"The US Forces in Japan, their family members and civilian employees share the pain and are taking all possible measures to prevent a recurrence," Wright was quoted as saying.
Ishiba replied: "I think that the overwhelming majority of American soldiers are conscientious about the Japan-US alliance."
But Japan's main opposition Democratic Party filed a demand with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's cabinet asking for immediate action to prevent further alleged crimes by US troops.
"We are so fed up," Mieko Hokama, a member of a group that opposes US bases, said at a meeting with members of parliament. "We have already had more than enough."
An Australian woman who was deemed by a Japanese court to have been raped by a US Navy serviceman in 2002 in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, said Japan has been like a "combat zone" even after World War II.
"Even since the war, there have been so many rape cases by US servicemen in Japan," said the woman, who only identified herself as Jane.
"I speak about my case because I don't think the 14-year-old girl could talk about hers right here," she said outside parliament.
Three US Marines gang-raped a 12-year-old girl in Okinawa in 1995, leading to major protests that set in motion a process under which Washington agreed to withdraw 8,000 troops from the small island.
Since 1995, Okinawa police said they have investigated 14 cases of rape allegedly committed by US servicemen until the end of last year.
Concerned over recent incidents, the US military on Wednesday imposed unusual orders barring all troops and their family members in Okinawa from leaving their bases and homes except in special circumstances.
The curfew was also in place for troops in Iwakuni, site of a major air base in western Japan near Hiroshima.
