Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki condemned Friday the alleged sexual assault of a woman in the prefecture by a U.S. Marine, who was referred to prosecutors on Thursday.
“I cannot help but feel strong anger as (the alleged act) trampled on the woman’s human rights and dignity,” Tamaki said at a news conference.
The governor said that the prefecture will lodge a protest with the Japanese and U.S. governments over the case, and that he will urge the U.S. State Department and Defense Department to take steps to prevent a recurrence during his visit to the United States from Sunday.
Police notified the prefectural government of the latest case under a scheme established after a series of sexual assault cases involving U.S. soldiers came to light in June.
Tamaki demanded that information on such cases continue to be shared quickly with the prefectural government.
Meanwhile, prefectural government sources said Thursday that Okinawa had decided not to send any officials to a U.S.-hosted event Friday.
Okinawa government officials have customarily attended the annual Independence Day-related event at the invitation of the U.S. side, according to the prefectural government. Vice Gov. Takekuni Ikeda had been scheduled to attend this year.
In June, two cases of sexual assault by U.S. servicemen against women in Okinawa, including a minor, came to light, but the prefectural government was not notified of either case.
The prefecture demanded that the central government swiftly provide such information, resulting in a review of the information-sharing process in July.