American soldier collapsed dead in bed with Japanese woman

The house where American soldiers murdered a Japanese woman on Okinawa Island. Photo:AP.

A US soldier and a Japanese woman were found dead on a blood-stained bed in an apartment bedroom in the Chatan district of Okinawa, southern Japan, on April 13. The US soldier stabbed the woman to death and then committed suicide, an Okinawa police spokesman said.

Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Akiba confirmed the murder and called US Ambassador William Hagerty to request cooperation in the investigation as well as efforts to prevent similar tragedies from recurring.

According to local police, the two appeared to be romantically involved. They found an uninjured child in the apartment and placed the child in government-run care.

Japanese police have not yet revealed the identity of the American soldier or the victim. This soldier is said to be working at the 3rd Marine Division, stationed on the island of Okinawa. "This is truly a tragedy, we are committed to supporting the investigation of the murder. We will provide more information as the investigation progresses," a representative of the US Marine unit said.

Ambassador Hagerty expressed regret over the incident and pledged to cooperate fully with the investigation. The case is likely to continue to stir up public opinion in Japan against the presence of US troops in the country.

US Marines stationed at Futenma base on Okinawa island. Photo:Japan Times.

The US military base on Okinawa is home to half of the approximately 54,000 US troops stationed in Japan. Local residents have repeatedly protested against crime, noise pollution and the environmental impact of the US military presence there.

US and Japanese authorities are planning to relocate the Futenma air base on the island to a less populated area in Okinawa. Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki is pressuring the US to quickly move the base.