2 American marines accused of violations in US bases in Japan

Two American marines in Okinawa, Japan, are under investigation for alleged violations, police said Thursday, the last one in A series of assault cases that have angered residents.

The United States has around 54,000 military personnel parked in Japan, mainly on the subtropical island of southern Okinawa, east of Taiwan.

“It is suspected that a 20 -year -old American sailor raped a Japanese woman in an American military base in March, and it is also suspected that he wounded another woman,” said a local police officer.

It is suspected that the second Marine, also about 20 years old, violated a Japanese woman in an American base in January, said the official.

Police have sent the two cases to prosecutors.

Washington will “completely” cooperate with the Japanese authorities in the investigations, said American ambassador George Glass.

“We deeply value the ties of trust and friendship that we have built for many decades with our Japanese hosts, and I am committed to doing everything possible to avoid actions that can endanger these ties,” he said in a statement.

Last week, the members of the US service joined Japanese officials and residents in Okinawa for a joint night patrol along a street in the center dotted with bars.

The patrol, the first joint operation since 1973, followed other cases of sexual assault in Okinawa that involve US military.

A 21 -year -old Marine was accused of rape in June last year, only months after prosecutors accused a 25 -year -old American soldier for allegedly assaulting a girl under 16.

The governor of Okinawa, Denny Tamaki, described the last cases as “deplorable” and said that the authorities would urge US military to avoid similar incidents, Japanese media reported.

The main spokesman of the Government of Japan, Yoshimasa Hayashi, refused to comment on the cases in a regular informative session on Thursday, but said that the crimes of US troops were “unacceptable.”

The alleged violation in March took place in a bathroom, and the injured woman was trying to stop the assault on the other woman, Japanese media said, citing police sources.

Relationships have long lying between Okinawanes and US bases.

Last year, a total of 80 people connected to the United States Army were accused in Okinawa for several crimes, police said.

The 1995 gang violation of a 12 -year -old girl by three American soldiers in Okinawa caused an important reaction, with calls for a 1960 pact rethinking, which allows the United States to park troops in Japan.

In:
• Okinawa
• Japan