U.S. gives airman to Japanese police

Associated Press

OKINAWA CITY, Japan — U.S. authorities agreed today to hand over an American serviceman accused of rape to Japanese authorities, the U.S. ambassador said, resolving a standoff that had strained relations and fanned resentment of the U.S. military in Okinawa.

Ambassador Howard Baker, after a meeting with Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka, said the decision to put Staff Sgt. Timothy Woodland in Japanese custody was made after "careful consideration" of the facts.

"I have conveyed information to my government that we are prepared to transfer custody of ... Woodland prior to indictment as requested by the Japanese government on July 2," Baker said.

Woodland, stationed at Okinawa's Kadena Air Base, is suspected in the rape of a local woman in her 20s last week. Woodland, 24, has denied the allegations, and the U.S. government had refused to hand him over to Japanese custody until it received assurances that his rights would be protected.