MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Okinawa prefecture's assembly adopted a resolution calling for the withdrawal of US Marines from the island following the arrest of a military base worker accused of murder, local media reported Thursday.
Last week, a 32-year-old US Marine veteran was arrested on suspicion of stabbing and strangling a 20-year-old Japanese woman near US Kadena Air Base in Okinawa.
"We strongly protest against the U.S. military and will deal with the case sternly, while taking any progress in the investigations into account," Okinawa's governor Takeshi Onaga was quoted as saying by Kyodo News.
23 May 2016, 14:52 GMT
The resolution is addressed to the United States military and authorities while the assembly also adopted a statement for the Japanese government. According to news reports, both documents call for the revision of the Japan-US Status of Forces Agreement.
The resolution and statement were submitted by the Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party.
On Wednesday, President of the United States Barack Obama offered his condolences to the family of the murdered woman during his meeting with Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe.
