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Japan protests fresh case of alleged rape by US sailor

Monday, 14 March 2016 10:41 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 14 March 2016 10:39 AM ]

People hold banners during a rally against a new US military base on Japan’s Okinawa Island, in front of the National Diet, in Tokyo, February 21, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Japan says it has registered a protest with the United States against the alleged rape of a woman by an American sailor on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa.

On Monday, Japan’s top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said Tokyo had expressed “a strong protest” to Washington over the allegation involving 24-year-old US Navy Seaman Justin Castellanos.

“The US side said it would be a very disappointing incident if the allegation was true and that they’re taking this matter seriously,” Suga added.

The Japanese official also said the government had demanded Washington to tighten discipline among its personnel and to take measures to prevent more of such incidents from taking place.

Castellanos was detained by police in Okinawa’s Camp Schwab on Sunday after being suspected of sexually assaulting a female Japanese tourist. He has denied the allegations.

The American sailor has not been formally charged yet.

According to the Kyodo News Agency, the woman was assaulted during her stay at a hotel in the area.

Okinawa governor Takeshi Onaga also described the case as being a “serious crime and blatant violation of women’s rights,” and warned that the incident also posed a threat to the country’s tourism industry.

Japanese locals on Okinawa have already been expressing serious reservations about the presence of US forces on the island, where a US camp is based. They complain about allegations of sexual abuse by the American forces, and are involved in a row with the Japanese government over the planned relocation of the US camp on the island. They are against the relocation, and want the camp totally removed.

Earlier this month, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan would temporarily halt construction work on the relocation of the US-run Futenma air base to the island’s town of Henoko.

The Okinawa Prefecture is home to 50,000 American forces. US forces were reportedly involved in more than 1,000 sex crimes in Japan between 2005 and 2013.

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