Local Japan governors seek U.S. forces pact overhaul

TOKYO (Reuters) - The heads of prefectures hosting U.S. military bases in Japan have urged Tokyo to negotiate changes in the pact that governs the status of U.S. forces in Japan following a string of crimes committed by U.S. servicemen.

The governors of 14 such prefectures gave a petition on Tuesday to Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura, calling for changes to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between Tokyo and Washington that governs the conduct of about 50,000 U.S. military personnel in Japan.

The petition follows a string of incidents and allegations involving U.S. military servicemen, including the suspected rape last month of a 14-year-old girl on the southern island of Okinawa.

The case revived bitter memories of the rape of a 12-year-old schoolgirl on the island in 1995, which set off huge protests against U.S. bases there and raised doubts about the bilateral security alliance.

"The world has changed over the 50 years since the agreement was concluded," Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima was quoted as saying. "The contents do not reflect or match the current era."

Okinawa plays host to the bulk of the U.S. troops based in Japan. Local residents often complain about the noise, crime and pollution associated with the bases.

Under the agreement, suspects do not have to be handed over to local authorities until charged by Japanese prosecutors.

In the wake of the 1995 rape incident, Washington agreed to consider handing over suspects in serious cases such as rape and murder even if they had not been charged.

U.S. ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer said on Monday that no change need be made to the agreement.

"I don't think the SOFA is the problem. The SOFA was not a problem in this incident (the suspected rape). The SOFA has worked," Schieffer told reporters.

"We have revised SOFA to the point that we believe that it is one of the most liberal SOFA documents that we have with a foreign government ... We think that the SOFA document itself is one that stands up to scrutiny pretty well."

(Reporting by Teruaki Ueno; Editing by Jerry Norton)