Washington, Oct 19 (IANS/RIA Novosti) America is "closely cooperating" with the Japanese authorities in investigating the alleged rape of a Japanese woman by two suspected US military servicemen, Pentagon spokesman George Little said.
Two US Navy sailors were arrested in Japan Tuesday on suspicion of raping a woman in the country's southern prefecture of Okinawa.
"We are also examining and will soon announce a package of measures to ensure responsible behaviour and to demonstrate our commitment to maintaining positive relationships with the local communities that host our forces," Little said in a statement.
He did not specify what kind of steps would be taken and added: "We deeply regret any grief and trauma the victim may have endured".
The sailors from Fort Worth Naval Air Base in Texas were stationed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa. On Tuesday, the night before their return to the US, they had drinks at a bar and after that allegedly attacked and raped a local woman.
Using the victim's description of the assailants, policemen arrested the two servicemen at a hotel as they were packing their bags for the return trip home.
Little's statement comes after an angered reaction from Japan, where more than 20,000 US troops are deployed on the southern Island of Okinawa. The incident was the latest in the chain of rape cases in Japan involving US troops.
The most notorious of these cases was in 1995, when three US soldiers raped a 12-year-old Japanese schoolgirl.
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