TOKYO, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Japanese central government and local officials on Monday condemned the raping of an Okinawa minor girl by a U.S. Marine.

    "It's a very regretful incident, and the foreign ministry has asked the U.S. side to reinforce its discipline to prevent similar incident from happening again," Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said in an interview with NHK.

    Komura said Japan's law enforcement authority will seriously deal with the incident in accordance with law and on the basis of proof.

    The minister said it's a wicked affair for the Japan-U.S. alliance from the point of national sentiment, and the Japanese side will try to control its shockwave.

    Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima said he felt strong indignation against the crime and could never forgive it since the victim is only a junior high school student.

    "Such an atrocious, brutal crime...will naturally have detrimental effect on the sentiment of the people of Okinawa," the governor was quoted by Kyodo News as saying.

    Okinawa Mayor Mitsuko Tomon said the incident was "absolutely unforgivable" as it inflicted such a terrible experience on a minor girl.

    Tyrone Hadnott, a 38-year-old staff sergeant belonging to the Camp Courtney base, was arrested on suspicion of raping a 14-year-old girl inside a car parked on a street in the town of Chatan around 10:30 p.m. Sunday.

    According to initial investigation, Hadnott met with the girl about two hours earlier in Okinawa city, and coaxed the girl into his car by offering her a ride home.

    In the past more than ten years, about 100 U.S. soldiers in Okinawa were sued on suspicion of raping local women. Such incidents strained the relationship between the U.S. army and local residents, and often led to anti-U.S. rallies.