Japan protested a new string of alleged crimes by U.S. troops and criticized American military discipline Monday, as indignation mounted over the arrest last week of a Marine on suspicion of raping a 14-year-old girl, AP reported Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka called U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer to complain about the latest incidents, which in addition to the alleged rape included allegations of drunken driving, trespassing and theft by American servicemen, the ministry said. «We had to protest strongly because it was just ridiculous that these alleged crimes were committed just as we were discussing the very problem,» ministry official Ryo Fukabori said. The government's top spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura, also accused American servicemen of continuing their alleged carousing despite accusations of lax discipline. Machimura suggested Tokyo expects further expressions of American regret over the behavior when U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits Japan next week. «They must be slacking off,» Machimura said of the U.S. troops. «Secretary of State Rice is visiting Japan next week. We must urge the U.S. government to reflect seriously on what has happened.» The arrest last week of Staff Sgt. Tyrone Luther Hadnott, 38, a Marine from Camp Courtney in Okinawa, in the alleged rape of a young girl has raised tensions over crimes committed by U.S. troops. Hadnott admitted to investigators that he forced the girl down and kissed her, but said he did not rape her, police said.
