A top official of the Defense Agency apologized Saturday to Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine after the arrest Friday of an Air Self-Defense Force officer on suspicion of raping a local schoolgirl.
It is extremely rare for the central government to send top brass to apologize for illegal acts committed by military personnel.
The move is widely seen as an attempt to prevent negative sentiment toward the military in Okinawa from further deteriorating after the spate of incidents involving U.S. military personnel stationed in the prefecture.