Japan decries alleged rape by US troops on Okinawa
/Japan's defense minister said he was deeply concerned by allegations that two American military servicemen had raped a woman on the island of Okinawa and suggested that the U.S. take more measures to prevent such attacks.
"This is a very serious crime," Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto told reporters Wednesday. Morimoto said the case follows another sexual assault in August, and he indicated he was considering discussing the matter with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.
The sailors were identified as Seaman Christopher Browning and Petty Officer 3rd Class Skyler Dozierwalker of the Fort Worth Naval Air Base in Texas. According to Japanese media, they had been drinking before they attacked the woman, in her 20s, who was on her way home before dawn Tuesday.
The two were in Japanese police custody, according to Okinawa Prefectural Police spokesman Takashi Shirado. Later Tuesday, police handed over investigation to prosecutors to decide whether to press formal charges.
Browning and Dozierwalker are both 23 and enlisted in 2008. They were assigned to the Fort Worth base the same year. Base spokesman Don Ray declined to comment on the men's arrests.
The arrests sparked immediate anger on Okinawa, which hosts more than half of the 47,000 U.S. troops in Japan and has recently seen massive protests against plans to deploy the Marine Corps' MV-22 Osprey to a base there because of safety concerns.
Okinawa Gov. Kazuhiro Nakaima, who has been in Tokyo since earlier this week, said the United States should worry about the consequences of repeated crime by U.S. servicemen on the island, where people already resent their presence.
