This latest offence is just one of several crimes committed by US service personnel that have generated ill-will among the Japanese.

About 50,000 US troops are currently based in Japan, mostly in Okinawa. Some of their misconduct can be traced back to the late 1970s, where crimes ranging from minor offences to murder, rape and drug trafficking, peaked at 69 cases.

In 1995, three US personnel kidnapped and raped a 12-year-old girl. This sparked massive protests and led to negotiations to reduce US military presence on Okinawa.

Some 91 US civilians and soldiers were charged with robbery and murder between 2006 to 2015. In March this year, a US sailor was charged with raping a Japanese woman in the island's capital, Naha.