U.S. Soldiers Questioned in Okinawa Rape

June 29 -- Several U.S. servicemen were questioned today by authorities investigating the alleged rape of a young Japanese woman on the island of Okinawa.

One suspect, an enlisted sergeant from the 353rd Special Operations Group based at Kadena Air Base on Okinawa, is being held by the U.S. Air Force and Japanese police questioned six others, believed to be witnesses to the incident, military sources told ABCNEWS.

The alleged rape took place at around 2:10 a.m. local time in a parking lot next to a pub where the suspect and the woman had been drinking in the central Okinawan town of Chatan, U.S. military sources said. Police believe six other servicemen witnessed the incident, intervened and tried to stop it.

"We believe the act was carried out by one man, believed to be a foreigner," an official of the Okinawa police, who declined to be identified, told Reuters earlier today. "But there may be others who cooperated."

U.S. Military Promises to Cooperate With Police

The investigation comes on the eve of newly elected Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to the United States for his first meeting with President Bush.

"I have heard that such an incident occurred but have not heard the details," Koizumi said at a news conference. "After hearing the facts, we should act if we must. … But regarding such crimes, both sides have to take measures to ensure that these don't happen."

The U.S. military said it was cooperating with Okinawan authorities and the Japanese government in the investigation.

"We are aware of the allegations of an incident on Okinawa," a U.S. military spokeswoman said Thursday night. "Our military commanders are cooperating fully with the government of Japan and the Okinawa police to assist in their investigation. Our military is facilitating making military members available to the police."

The woman, who is in her 20s, told authorities she was surrounded by several foreign men and that one of them raped her, Shoichi Shinzato, a spokesman for the Okinawa state police, told The Associated Press.