US Marine in Japan referred to prosecutor for sexual assault

Tokyo, September 6 (IANS): A U.S. Marine in Okinawa, Japan, was charged with sexually assaulting and assaulting a woman in June, local media reported, the third such case to come to light on the island this year.

The latest incident occurred in the northern part of the prefecture's main island and was reported to police by a medical facility that the victim, who is in her 20s, visited shortly after the alleged attack, Kyodo News reported, citing investigative sources.

The Marine Corps member in his 20s, who is in U.S. military custody, was voluntarily questioned by local police. Police based the case on his social media posts and footage from surveillance cameras around the suspected crime scene, Xinhua news agency reported, citing Kyodo News.

Police said the two were acquaintances but did not say whether the man had admitted the allegations.

The Okinawa government's Military Base Affairs Department expressed regret over the latest case and said it would call on the U.S. military to take steps to prevent such incidents from happening again.

The case follows the indictment of two other U.S. soldiers in the prefecture on charges of sexual assault and attempted sexual assault. The charges came to light in June after local media reports rocked Okinawa.

In March, a U.S. Air Force member was charged with allegedly kidnapping and sexually abusing a minor. In May, a U.S. Marine was arrested on suspicion of attempted rape with bodily harm.

However, the police did not disclose these cases at the time, citing the privacy of the victims, and the central government did not report them to the prefectural government.

The two cases led to formal complaints from Okinawa to the U.S. Embassy, ​​the U.S. military and the Japanese government, as well as calls for changes to the status of forces agreement that governs the U.S. military population in Japan.

Okinawa is home to 70 percent of all U.S. military bases in Japan, despite making up only 0.6 percent of the country's total area. Crimes committed by U.S. soldiers and civilian personnel are a constant source of complaint for locals.