Rice regrets US rape case in Japan
TOKYO -- US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice voiced deep regret Wednesday over the alleged rape of a Japanese girl by a US Marine, saying she hoped it would not hurt ties between the close allies.
Rice pledged to see that justice would be served following the case on the southern island of Okinawa, which has caused outrage across Japan.
Visiting Tokyo on the last leg of a three-nation regional tour, Rice also expressed guarded optimism about North Korea, leaving her chief negotiator in China to help break a logjam over the communist state's nuclear disarmament.
The incident on Okinawa -- a key military hub close to the strategic Taiwan Strait and home to half of the more than 40,000 troops stationed in Japan -- has put a strain on relations between US forces and the Japanese public.
US ambassador Thomas Schieffer and military commanders have already offered apologies, and US troops have been placed under a sweeping curfew in a bid to curb public anger over the alleged sexual assault.
"We just regret deeply that this happened," Rice told a media briefing at the US ambassador's residence.
When asked whether the case could harm US-Japanese ties, she replied: "We certainly hope there will not be lasting effects.
"It's a long-standing and strong alliance. But our concern right now is to see that justice is done, to get to the bottom of this."
Rice told a press conference later that, on behalf of President George W. Bush, she conveyed "the regrets of the United States" over the incident to Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura.
During the press conference with Komura, Rice promised to follow through on a US plan to prevent future incidents and praised the alliance with Japan as "one of the strongest pillars of security" in the Asia-Pacific region.
Acknowledging Rice's message, Komura reaffirmed the importance of the alliance. The United States stations troops under a treaty to defend Japan, which has been officially pacifist since World War II.
But women's rights activist Hisako Motoyama questioned whether the United States had taken anything more than symbolic action.
"It is very disappointing and inappropriate that Ms Rice spoke more about the effects on the US-Japan alliance than about the interests of victims," she said.
Motoyama, head of the Asia Japan Women's Resource Center, urged a "serious review of the present status of the US military presence in Japan."
Okinawa police arrested Staff Sergeant Tyrone Luther Hadnott, 38, earlier this month following allegations he raped the girl in his car.
He has admitted trying to forcibly kiss the teenager but denies rape.
In 1995, three US troops gang-raped a 12-year-old girl, setting off major protests that set in motion a process to withdraw thousands of soldiers from Okinawa.
Rice arrived here to pursue talks on North Korean nuclear disarmament, but left her chief nuclear envoy Christopher Hill in Beijing to work on ideas she had discussed with Chinese President Hu Jintao.
Her tour of Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo is aimed at ending a two-month impasse over Pyongyang's failure to disclose details of all its nuclear programs.
Rice says that the North must provide information about proliferation and suspected uranium enrichment.
A landmark six-nation deal reached a year ago offers the regime a million tons of fuel oil or equivalent aid, normal relations with the United States and Japan, and a formal peace treaty if it scraps all nuclear work.
The North agreed to disable its atomic plants and fully declare all nuclear programs by the end of last year, but it missed the deadline amid a dispute with the United States over what should be in the declaration.
Rice is due to meet here Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has warned on his own visit to Japan of a danger posed by cooperation between North Korea and Iran.
"I will discuss whatever is on Prime Minister Olmert's mind," Rice said.
Washington wants North Korea to clear up suspicions of a possible transfer of nuclear technology to Syria.
Source:inquirer.net
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