US soldiers accused of Okinawa rape

This video from Japan says about itself:

Anger has spread among residents of Okinawa Prefecture in the wake of the arrest of a U.S. Marine for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl from a local junior high school.

From daily The Guardian in Britain:

Two US sailors accused of Okinawa rape

Case worsens US military’s relations with Japanese islanders amid continued furore over stationing of Osprey aircraft

Justin McCurry in Tokyo

Wednesday 17 October 2012 06.16 BST

Two American sailors have been arrested on suspicion of raping a woman in Okinawa, raising the possibility of further protests against the US military presence on the southern Japanese island.

The suspects, named as Christopher Browning and Skyler Dozierwalker, both 23, were arrested after allegedly raping the woman as she walked home in the early hours of Tuesday.

The alleged victim, who is in her 20s, later identified the sailors at an off-base housing complex, local media said. The two men, who are in Japanese police custody, had reportedly been drinking before the alleged incident.

The case has come at a particularly sensitive time for relations between the US military and residents in Okinawa, which hosts more than half of the approximately 47,000 US military personnel in Japan.

Lingering resentment at the large US military footprint on the island turned to anger recently following the controversial deployment earlier this month of 12 Osprey aircraft at Futenma, a marine corps base located in the middle of a densely populated city.

“This [the rape case] is the worst possible timing,” Kyodo quoted an aide to the prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, as saying, adding that Tokyo had lodged a strong protest with the US authorities.

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• US moving ‘more sophisticated weapons’ to Okinawa (eutimes.net)
• After Decades of Tension, U.S. Military Base In Okinawa To Relocate (mintpressnews.com)
• Okinawa approves relocation of controversial US military base (theguardian.com)
• US to move Okinawa military base (nzherald.co.nz)