The day of his arrest, 200 people protested outside the Kadena Air Base in Okinawa against the U.S. military presence there.

Since the end of World War II, Washington has stationed 47,000 troops in Japan, with 27,000 of them located in Okinawa, a group of islands southwest of Japan's main islands.

Okinawa, which many of its residents view as having a national identity distinct from Japan, was under direct U.S. colonial rule from 1945 to 1972, when it was turned back over to Japan.

Over the past several years Okinawans have organized mounting protests to demand the withdrawal of U.S. military troops from their land and to condemn the continuing instances of abusive conduct by U.S. military personnel stationed there.

"I accept the emotions were very heated over this terrible, heinous crime and I suspect that those who were very active in their activities against the U.S. forces present in Japan, who are at large in Okinawa particularly, will be redoubling their efforts," stated U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage the day the U.S. airman was turned over to Japanese authorities. "I believe however that the decision to turn over the sergeant was made in sufficient time to keep this from becoming a situation that got out of control."

In 1995, after three U.S. soldiers were found guilty of raping a 12-year-old girl, tens of thousands of people poured into the streets of Okinawa to express their outrage and demand that Washington withdraw its troops.

The Status of Forces Agreement, under which U.S. troops are stationed in Japan, does not oblige Washington to cede custody of U.S. military personnel charged in criminal cases until they have been indicted. In response to protests over the 1995 incident, however, the U.S. government promised to "favorably consider" the Japanese authorities' request to relinquish soldiers charged with serious crimes.

A resolution passed July 5 by the Okinawa prefectural assembly demanded alterations in the Status of Forces Agreement. "Even with a heinous crime such as this, the Americans use the pact as a shield to continue denying our requests for the suspect to be handed over," the resolution stated. The transfer didn't occur until four days after Japanese police had issued a warrant for Woodland's arrest.

At the time, top officials in Prime Minister Junichiro Koisumi's cabinet also criticized Washington for ignoring the court's warrant.

Woodland is the first U.S. soldier stationed in Okinawa to be turned over to Japanese authorities for a pre-indictment investigation. This is only the second time U.S. forces in Japan have handed over a serviceman prior to formal charges being filed. The first was in July 1996, in the case of an attempted murder of a woman near Nagasaki.

In response to this latest incident, U.S. secretary of state Colin Powell announced he will hold talks with Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka in Tokyo July 23 as part of a previously scheduled Asian tour. The Mainichi Daily News reports State Department spokesman Richard Boucher saying that "because the rape incident has reignited furious protests against the American military presence in Okinawa, Powell will examine tightening discipline among U.S. servicemen."

Meanwhile, recent comments about this case by the Japanese foreign minister have further fueled the controversy around the issue. Several of Japan's newspapers report that at a private dinner with members of Parliament July 2, she blamed the alleged rape victim for the incident, claiming she was drunk at 2:00 a.m. at an Okinawa restaurant where U.S. soldiers go to meet women.  
 
 
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