﻿ 	Tensions Rise As Japan Asks For Handover Of US Serviceman Rape Suspect - (Reuters) 

By Kazunori Takada

TOKYO (Reuters) - The United States will hand over to Japanese police on Friday a U.S. airman suspected of raping a young Japanese woman, officials said, resolving a row that had threatened to fray their strategic alliance.

The decision ends a row that had been bubbling for a week with local residents angered at the delay and Japanese cabinet ministers warning of potential damage to relations if the situation dragged on much longer.

``The United States has decided to hand over the suspect,'' Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka told reporters after a meeting with the new U.S. Ambassador, Howard Baker.

It will be only the second time U.S. forces in Japan have handed over a serviceman to Japanese investigators before formal charges have been filed.

``My government is ready to transfer custody of Staff Sergeant Timothy Woodland prior to the indictment as requested by the Japanese government,'' Baker told reporters.

``The U.S. government has considered this case seriously and regrets misconduct by U.S. servicemen,'' he said, adding that a joint committee will meeting later in the to finalize details of the transfer.

``In our discussion with the Japanese government, we have satisfied ourselves that our U.S. service member will receive fair and humane treatment throughout his custody,'' he said.

The alleged rape of the woman in her 20s last Friday follows a string of offences by U.S. forces on the southern island of Okinawa, reluctant host to the bulk of the U.S. military presence in Japan, and has fanned smoldering resentment among residents.

Japanese ire has also been mounting because of the U.S. delay over a decision on handing over Woodland. He has denied the accusations.

FAIR TREATMENT

Japanese officials said the decision had been stalled by a U.S. demand that an American interpreter be present when Woodland was questioned and that time limits be set on how long he could be interrogated. No American interpreter will be present.

``It is our responsibility to prove to the United States and the world that Japan's police and the administration of justice are fair,'' Foreign Minister Tanaka told reporters.

Woodland has not been charged, but under a pact governing the conduct of the U.S. military in Japan, a suspect can be handed over before an indictment in the case of a ``heinous'' crime.

The two sides agreed that such exceptions could be made after the 1995 rape of a Japanese school girl on Okinawa by three U.S. servicemen jolted the U.S.-Japan alliance.

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Woodland was called in for more questioning by Okinawan police on Friday morning.

``I am satisfied that the problem has been resolved,'' Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda told a news conference. ``I hope the investigation will proceed as quickly as possible under the current law.''

The latest delay led to calls from ruling and opposition politicians to revise the Status of Forces Agreement.

CALLS FOR AGREEMENT REVISION

Japanese leaders had pressed for the swift handover of the suspect, warning of potential damage to the strategic alliance at the forefront of Washington's Asian policy.

``It is quite natural to have him handed over,'' said Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said prior to the decision. ``The emotions of people in Okinawa are running very high.

``This could create a difficult situation for the bases there,'' he said, adding he had conveyed these sentiments to U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz in a call on Thursday.

Okinawa Governor Keiichi Inamine, aware of escalating local anger, has called for a reduction in U.S. troop levels and asked for a revision of a U.S.-Japan pact that prevents U.S. servicemen being handed over to local police except in cases of serious crimes -- a call he repeated this week.

Fukuda, however, was more cautious about the idea of changing the agreement. ``The current system is okay, but we should take steps to change it if needed,'' he said.

Under current agreements, the United States need not hand over suspects until they are charged by Japanese prosecutors.

But ever since three servicemen raped a 12-year-old in 1995, Washington has agreed to consider requests in serious cases.

In July 1996, 20-year-old Terrence Swanson became the first serviceman to be handed over to Japanese authorities before indictment in a case of attempted murder of a local woman.

Analysts have said that while Japan was likely to press for revisions to the agreement, popular Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi would probably seek to avoid full-scale debate on more fundamental issues such as troop reductions.
