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Japan Police Arrest U.S. Marine for Molesting Girl
Japanese police said on Monday they had arrested a U.S. marine for molesting a 14-year-old school girl on the southern island of Okinawa, just weeks before President Bill Clinton attends the Group of Eight summit there.
The case is likely to add fuel to local resentment at the massive U.S. military presence, which was already expected to result in protests at the high-profile summit.
A police spokesman in Okinawa said the drunken 19-year-old marine, whose name and home town were withheld due to his age, had entered the apartment of the highschool girl in the early hours of Monday morning and molested her while she was sleeping.
The man belonged to the U.S. Marine Corps at the Futenma Air Station in central Okinawa, the spokesman said.
The Okinawa prefectural government said it had lodged a protest with the U.S. military over the incident, calling for stricter discipline on its personnel and action to prevent similar crimes.
"This must not happen here again. The U.S. military must be aware of how the Okinawans feel about the presence of U.S. military on Okinawa," said an official with the Okinawa prefectural government.
A U.S. embassy spokesman in Tokyo said the embassy was aware of the arrest, but could make no comment at the moment.
Monday's incident is a potential embarrassment for Clinton and the Japanese government just three weeks ahead of the July 21-23 summit.
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