Tokyo, 3 July, /AJMEDIA/
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is closely tracking the cases of U.S. military personnel accused of committing sexual crimes in the southern Japan island prefecture of Okinawa, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday.
Defense Department spokesman Pat Ryder said the United States is also working closely with Japanese communities to deal with their concerns over the cases, which include the indictment of a U.S. Air Force man for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 16 in the prefecture.
“The alleged behavior of those members does not reflect the core values of the U.S. military, nor does it represent the conduct of the overwhelming majority of Japan-based personnel that we have forward deployed,” Ryder said at a press briefing, when asked if Austin had spoken to his Japanese counterpart and how the cases might affect Washington’s alliance with Tokyo.
Without answering whether Austin had reached out to the Japanese government, the spokesman said, “We are deeply troubled by the severity of the allegations and we regret the anxiety this has caused. Japan is one of our closest allies.”
He added that U.S. military units are cooperating with local authorities to investigate the allegations thoroughly, based on “applicable laws and agreements.”
Ryder’s remarks followed last week’s revelation that a U.S. Marine in his 20s was arrested in May on suspicion of attempted rape resulting in injury, which came just days after news broke about the airman’s March indictment.