TOKYO – Police say they have arrested two U.S. sailors in the alleged rape of a Japanese woman in Okinawa that has sparked a diplomatic protest.
Japanese police say the two 23-year-old suspects were arrested Tuesday. They were identified as Seaman Christopher Browning and Petty Officer 3rd Class Skyler Dozierwalker of the Fort Worth Naval Air Base in Texas.
Vice Foreign Minister Shuji Kira lodged a protest with U.S. Ambassador John Roos, who promised full cooperation with the investigation.
Okinawa prefectural spokesman Susumu Matayoshi said the suspected rape "shocked all Okinawans and is unforgivable."
Okinawa hosts more than half of the nearly 50,000 American troops in Japan. Local opposition to the U.S. bases over noise, safety concerns and crime flared into mass protests after the 1995 rape of a schoolgirl by three American servicemen.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
