The United States has agreed to turn over an American airman to Japanese authorities to face charges in the alleged rape of a Japanese woman on Okinawa, a senior US official said on Thursday.
The official, who asked not to be identified, told reporters the agreement was expected to become formal when US Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker met with Japanese officials in Tokyo on Friday.
The accusation against Staff Sgt. Timothy Woodland, 24, has caused friction between the two governments. The United States has been negotiating with Japan since the alleged incident last Friday to assure that the legal rights of the suspect, who has not been indicted by Japan, are upheld.
"They (the United states and Japan) have got an agreement," the official said in response to questions. "The transfer is expected to occur after the meeting" in Tokyo.
However, a US embassy spokeswoman in Tokyo said there was no plan for Baker to meet Japanese officials on Friday.
Earlier Thursday, Secretary of State Colin Powell told reporters the United States was close to a decision on handing over Woodland to Japanese authorities. Powell said officials were looking at conditions under which Woodland, who has denied committing a rape, would be turned over.
Woodland has not been indicted for the alleged attack, but under an agreement governing the conduct of the US military in Japan a suspect can be handed over before an indictment in the case of a "heinous" crime.
REPORT FROM BAKER AWAITED
"We understand the very serious nature of this incident. We understand this is a heinous crime as defined in the 1995 agreement (on the forces) and we are in the most serious negotiations with the Japanese government about this," Powell said.
Powell said he was awaiting a report from Baker, who had just had a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Makiki Tanaka.
He said: "We understand the difficulty that this is creating in Japan and we are anxious to resolve it as quickly as possible."
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher later gave a strong indication that Woodland would be handed over, telling reporters: "We are giving sympathetic consideration to the Japanese request for a preindictment transfer."
The alleged rape followed a string of offenses by US forces on the island of Okinawa, reluctant host to the bulk of the US military presence in Japan, and has fanned smoldering resentment among Okinawa residents.
The incident was an embarrassment to the United States, which has been trying to improve its image in Japan damaged by the accidental sinking of the Japanese fishing training vessel Ehime Maru a US submarine off Hawaii on February 9.
US WANTS "TO DO RIGHT BY ALL THE PARTIES"
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi had a warm meeting with President George W. Bush at Bush's retreat outside Washington last weekend and has said he wants the rape case to be resolved in a way that would not strain relations.
US defense officials, who asked not to be identified, noted that if Woodland were handed over after indictment, it would provide legal guarantees such as a lawyer, interpreter and some limits on questioning by Japanese police.
Navy Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters the United States wanted "to do right by all the parties" in addressing Japanese concerns over the crime and the Pentagon's desire to make sure that the legal rights of the suspect were not compromised.
He said Woodland, who had undergone more than 30 hours of questioning by Japanese authorities, had obtained a Japanese attorney and was getting legal advice from a representative of the US military Judge Advocate General's office.
Okinawa police questioned Woodland for a seventh day amid mounting local anger at what was seen as a delay by US forces in handing him over after the issue of an arrest warrant on Monday.
KOIZUMI SEEKS "PROPER DECISION"
Koizumi urged Washington to do the right thing by handing over the airman. "I hope that the United States will make an appropriate and proper decision soon," Koizumi said on his return from a trip to the United States, Britain and France.
"I would like to watch the situation a little longer," he said, commenting on an incident that threatens to fray ties between the two allies if mishandled.
Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani telephoned US Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz earlier and urged the swift handover of the suspect, warning of potential damage to the strategic alliance at the forefront of Washington's Asian policy.
"It must not happen that we allow the frustration of people in the (Okinawa) prefecture to escalate to the degree that they step up calls for a review of the ... presence of bases, and thereby strain the trust between Japan and the US," Japan's Kyodo news agency quoted Nakatani as saying.
The suspected rape has already triggered renewed demands, and even some small demonstrations, for a reduction in the huge bases that cover 20 percent of Okinawa's land.
(Chinadaily.com.cn 07/06/2001)
