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TOKYO : Japanese police on Thursday arrested a US sailor suspected of murder, the latest in a series of alleged crimes involving the American military that have sparked anger in local communities.
Olatunbosun Ugbogu, 22, a Nigerian national who serves in the US Navy, was arrested over the killing of taxi driver Masaaki Takahashi last month, a police spokesman said.
The US Navy handed the sailor over to Japanese police after an arrest warrant was issued earlier in the day.
Japan complained to the United States over the incident, which comes amid already tense relations between the US military and local communities.
"It is extremely regrettable that an incident once again occurred involving a US serviceman," Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura told US Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer and senior military officers at a meeting on Thursday.
Schieffer expressed "the heartfelt regret that we all feel over this tragic incident."
According to local media, the sailor has admitted to police that he killed Takahashi, 61, who was found dead on March 19 with a kitchen knife in his neck near Yokosuka, the biggest US naval base in Japan south of Tokyo.
The sailor's credit card was reportedly found in the parked taxi where the driver was discovered murdered. Reports said the taxi driver may have argued with his customer over the fare.
But a lawyer told reporters after meeting the suspect following his arrest that Ugbogu had denied any intent to kill the driver, according to Kyodo News.
The incident is the latest in a series of alleged crimes in Japan linked to US servicemen that have strained relations between the military and local communities.
A 22-year-old US sailor from the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk was sentenced to life in prison by a Japanese court for kicking and beating a 56-year-old woman to death in 2006 in Yokosuka.
Japan and the US have signed a treaty, called the Japan-US Status of Forces Agreement, which protects visiting service members and their families.
Under the treaty, Japan needs the agreement of America to take custody of a US service member before obtaining an indictment, even if he or she is allegedly involved in a crime against Japanese nationals.
The US military has agreed to be flexible about the treaty and to hand over defendants in felony cases of murder and rape after major protests broke out following a gang rape of a 12-year-old girl in 1995 by three US servicemen.
Japan's main opposition party wants the treaty be revised following a series of crimes allegedly linked to US soldiers.
But the US Ambassador said there was no need to overhaul the agreement.
"I think the Status of Forces Agreement has worked very well in this process," he said. "When they decided they wanted custody of him, they were given the custody."
And, according to Kyodo, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who condemned the latest incident, told reporters: "We will work to improve the current agreement step by step, and steadily."
The US military on Wednesday announced a night-time curfew for personnel at Yokosuka, its biggest naval base in Japan, limiting movements between the hours of 10:00 pm and 6:00 am to journeys to work and essential errands.
More than 40,000 American troops are stationed in Japan, which became officially pacifist after World War II and relies on the US military for protection amid tense relations with neighbouring North Korea.
The US military also imposed a curfew on troops in southern Okinawa in February following an alleged rape of a 14-year-old girl.
The military eased those restrictions after nearly two weeks but still maintains a night-time curfew on servicemen in Okinawa. - AFP/de
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