Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Tuesday that “we began high-level, working-level consultations between Japan and the United States last week on what effective measures should be taken”.
“The Japanese government will continue to do everything in its power both to address this case and to ensure that it does not happen again,” she told a legislative committee session.
Motegi held a telephone call at the weekend with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who offered his “sincere condolences” over the alleged crime, pledging US cooperation in the investigation.
Crimes committed by US personnel have been a thorn in relations between the close security allies.
Last year, a Japanese court sentenced a US Marine accused of choking and attempting to rape a woman in her 20s to seven years in prison.
The United States has around 54,000 military personnel stationed in Japan, mostly on Okinawa.
