No US-Japan deal on military suspects

Resentment is high against the US military presence in Okinawa

Japan and the United States have failed to reach a new agreement on dealing with members of the American military accused of serious crimes in Japan.

After 45 days of negotiations, a US state department spokesman said officials had made considerable efforts to strike a deal by Friday's deadline, but substantial differences remained.

The talks began in June after the Americans agreed to hand over to the Japanese authorities a US marine - Lance Corporal Jose Torres - accused of raping a Japanese woman on the island of Okinawa.

Tokyo wants future US suspects to be handed over before they are charged - Washington is insisting on guarantees of what it calls proper treatment.

Resentment

Under current agreements governing the status of US forces in Japan, the US military is not legally required to hand over suspects to Japanese police until they are formally indicted.

Only two US serviceman on Okinawa - where most of the American troops are stationed - have been turned over to the Japanese authorities prior to formal indictment.

The large number of US forces in Okinawa is an extremely sensitive issue, and has in the past generated much local resentment.

About 26,000 of the 48,000 US military personnel in Japan are hosted on the island string, even though they make up less than 1% of the Japanese landmass.

There have been a number of criminal cases involving US servicemen in recent years.

In 1995, the rape of a local schoolgirl by three US servicemen triggered outrage throughout Okinawa.