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TOKYO: A Filipino woman said she was raped by a US soldier on the
southern Japanese island of Okinawa, home to half of the more than
40,000 US troops in the country, officials said.
They did not identify the woman.
The case was revealed one day after the US
military imposed a sweeping curfew on troops and their family
members in a bid to stem public anger in Japan, a close US ally.
The American military said Thursday it was
investigating new allegations of rape by a US serviceman in Japan
amid uproar after a string of criminal cases.
“The US Army takes this matter very
seriously,” Army spokesman Dottie Vick said. “Army authorities
are investigating and will continue to fully cooperate with the
Okinawa prefectural police.”
She declined further details, saying the case
was under investigation.
Kyodo News, quoting unnamed sources, said police
planned to seek soon an arrest warrant for the soldier over the
alleged rape, which was said to have taken place in mid-February in
the central part of Okinawa.
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 because of its proximity to the Taiwan
Strait.
The alleged rape was the latest case this month
to damage the image of US forces in Japan.
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.
“We are so fed up,” Mieko Hokama, a member
of a group that opposes US bases, told reporters after a meeting in
Tokyo with members of parliament. “We have already had more than
enough.”
An Australian woman, who was recognized by a
Japanese court as having 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 her’s 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 some 8,000 troops
from the small island.
Okinawa police said they have investigated 14
cases of rape allegedly committed by US servicemen since the 1995
incident.
Thomas Schieffer, the US ambassador to Japan,
quickly flew to Okinawa last week after the rape-case arrest to
offer a personal apology and to pledge new training for the troops.
But since then, two more US Marines have since
been arrested in Okinawa, one for allegedly driving while drunk and
the other on allegations of stumbling intoxicated into a
stranger’s home.
-- AFP
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