Japan Police Arrest U.S. Sailor for Murder

Police would not immediately confirm the arrest.

Japanese police arrested on Thursday a U.S. sailor on suspicion of murdering and robbing a taxi driver last month, the latest case of crime linked to U.S. bases in the country.

Japan's top government spokesman, however, said the bilateral alliance would not be affected by such cases.

Nearly 50,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Japan under the U.S.-Japan security alliance, a pillar of Tokyo's diplomacy, but friction with local communities often occurs because of concern about crime, accidents and noise.

Police in Kanagawa, near Tokyo, identified the arrested sailor as 22-year-old Olatunbosun Ugbogu.

Ugbogu, who is a Nigerian national, had been in U.S. military custody on a charge of desertion and was handed over to Japanese police by agreement with U.S. authorities. A small percentage of U.S. military personnel is made up of non-U.S. citizens.

"Despite such incidents, the Japan-U.S. alliance will not be shaken," Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said.

"But to be able to maintain and develop a firm U.S.-Japan alliance, we will seek a sound response by the American side," he told a news conference, noting the U.S. military was compiling new steps to prevent more crimes.

U.S. ambassador Thomas Schieffer offered condolences to the victim's family and friends.

"I want to express to you the heartfelt regret that all of us feel. This was a tragic incident. It puts a stain on all of us who try to serve America here in Japan," Schieffer told Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura.

Takahashi, 61, was found dead in his taxi with stab wounds in his neck on the evening of March 19, police in Kanagawa, south of Tokyo said.

Last month, thousands of residents of the southern island of Okinawa rallied to protest crimes by U.S. troops and demand a smaller U.S. military presence in the prefecture, after a U.S. Marine was arrested on suspicion of raping a 14-year-old girl.

PERIOD OF MOURNING

Japanese prosecutors dropped that case after the girl withdrew her complaints. The Marine was being investigated by U.S. authorities for possible violations of the military code.

Four other U.S. Marines from a base in southwest Japan face court martial over the rape of a Japanese woman last year.

The U.S. Navy in Japan said on Wednesday it would ban until April 7 public drinking and the sale of alcohol at naval bases and restrict its personnel to bases from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. except for essential travel as part of a period of mourning for the murdered taxi driver.

Later on Thursday, the U.S. Navy said it had handed over the sailor to Japanese authorities.

"Due to the sensitive nature of the ongoing murder investigation by Japanese authorities and to avoid prejudicing the case, the U.S. Navy asks for understanding that it will not speculate or provide opinion on the ongoing murder investigation," the U.S. Navy said in a statement.

Under an agreement on the status of U.S. military personnel in Japan, members of the military suspected of crimes need not be handed over to Japanese authorities until they are charged.

But Washington has promised to favourably consider handing over suspects of crimes such as rape before indictment.

Japanese opposition parties and Okinawa politicians have demanded that the agreement covering U.S. military personnel be revised to give Japanese authorities greater legal jurisdiction, a demand so far rejected by both Tokyo and Washington.

The friction over bases coincides with a delay in approval by Japan's parliament of a pact on Tokyo's funding for U.S. bases. The agreement expired on March 31 and parliament's opposition-controlled upper house is expected to vote against its renewal because of concern some money has been misused.

The new pact will take affect 30 days after its approval by the lower house on Thursday, but U.S. and Japanese officials have lamented the delay, saying it affects U.S. military training.