TOKYO , Japan ( CNN ) -- A high-level American delegation may be headed to Okinawa soon to smooth strained relations with Japan after allegations a U.S. Marine raped a Japanese teenager . Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Tuesday deplored the incident as `` unforgivable . '' Okinawa authorities are bracing for protests if Staff Sgt . Tyrone Luther Hadnott , 38 , is charged in the alleged Sunday night attack on a 14-year-old girl . In Washington , U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said , `` It 's a horrendous crime , and we take these allegations very seriously . We are working very closely with Japanese officials on the matter . '' McCormack suggested an American delegation soon might meet with the family of the alleged victim or local officials , he said . `` I would expect there would be some senior-level U.S. visitors , not from the U.S. but from inside Japan , who might make a trip down there to Okinawa , '' he said . He would n't give any details other than to say such a visit might include the U.S. ambassador to Japan , Thomas Schieffer , and a top U.S. military officer . The episode echoes a similar incident more than a decade ago that strained relations between the United States and Japan . Watch as the new case strikes a raw nerve in Okinawa » . In 1995 , anti-U.S. sentiments boiled over when three American servicemen gang-raped a 12-year-old Okinawan schoolgirl . Two years ago , a U.S. civilian military employee was jailed for nine years for raping two women . `` There have been incidents like this in the past , and it is a problem that it has occurred again , '' Fukuda told a parliamentary panel Tuesday . `` We take this very seriously . '' Also Tuesday , the deputy police chief of Okinawa City released more details of the case , saying Hadnott offered to take the girl home on his motorcycle . The schoolgirl , he said , was walking with her friends and accepted Hadnott 's offer . According to police , Hadnott took the girl to a house and later to his car . They drove to a park where he allegedly attacked her , police said . The girl used her cell phone to call friends , who notified police . Hadnott reportedly told authorities he only tried to push the girl down and kiss her . The girl disputed his claims , and police said they intend to file rape charges . Under Japanese law , a person can be held up to 10 days without charges . The assault was reported Sunday night in the Chatan entertainment district on Okinawa , a major hub for U.S. forces in the Pacific . Hadnott is based at Camp Courtney there . More than 40,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Japan , most of them in Okinawa . They were placed there under a security alliance after Japan was defeated in World War II and forced to renounce its right to a military . The servicemen 's presence has at times bred resentment among local residents who have long complained about crime , noise and accidents . E-mail to a friend . CNN 's Kyung Lah and Charley Keyes contributed to this report .
NEW : Japan may send high - ranking officials to Okinawa . Japan 's prime minister calls alleged assault on girl ` ` unforgivable '' Authorities have not charged anyone with crime .