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Japan's PM condemns rape case as 'unforgivable'
The Marine, 38-year-old Tyrone Hadnott, based at Camp Courtney on the island, was arrested on Monday on suspicion of raping the schoolgirl when the two were in a car on Sunday.
- Agencies
- Published: 15:08 February 12, 2008
Tokoyo: Japan's prime minister on Tuesday denounced the suspected rape of a 14-year-old girl by a U.S. Marine on the southern island of Okinawa, an episode with echoes of a 1995 case that jolted the US-Japan alliance.
The Marine, 38-year-old Tyrone Hadnott, based at Camp Courtney on the island, was arrested on Monday on suspicion of raping the schoolgirl when the two were in a car on Sunday.
He has denied raping the girl but acknowledged forcing her to kiss him, an Okinawa police spokesman said.
"It is unforgivable," Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda told a parliamentary panel in his first public comments on the latest incident on Okinawa, host to a huge U.S. military presence.
Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed anger over repeated incidents despite frequent promises by US officials to prevent them. "This will have a big impact on future US-Japan relations," he told a news conference.
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