Tokyo ( CNN ) -- Japanese prosecutors have indicted two American sailors on charges that they raped a Japanese woman on the island of Okinawa last month , a case that has deepened tensions between local residents and the U.S. military . The arrest of the two suspects prompted outraged reactions from Japanese officials and resulted in the imposition of a curfew by the U.S. military on its troops in Japan . The two suspects , both from a base in Fort Worth , Texas , were indicted by Naha District Court on Tuesday afternoon , according to a statement from the public affairs office of the U.S . Commander , Naval Forces Japan . They were arrested last month on Okinawa , which lies south of the main Japanese islands , on allegations that they raped a woman in the early hours of October 16 , leaving her with an injury to her neck . They were staying at a U.S. Air Force base on Okinawa while in transit . According to the Navy statement , Aviation Electrician 's Mate Skyler Dozierwalker faces a charge of rape by group resulting in injury , and Aviation Machinist 's Mate Airman Christopher Browning faces a charge of rape by group resulting in injury , as well as a charge of robbery . Both men are 23 years old . The Okinawa prosecutors ' office declined to disclose information about the indictment by telephone and did n't provide a statement . The issue of violent crimes by U.S. troops in Japan has divided the two countries for decades . It came to a peak in 1995 when a U.S. sailor and two U.S. Marines were convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl . Tens of thousands of Okinawans took to the streets at the time demanding that the United States leave the island . Relations between the U.S. military and the people of Okinawa have also been strained in recent months over the U.S. Marine Corps ' deployment of MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft to a base on the island . Some Okinawa residents are concerned because the Osprey has had a reputation for crashing . The Okinawan community has long been against the presence of the U.S. military , which recently announced that thousands of Marines will be moved to a base in Guam . The rape charges against the two U.S. sailors come just months after a U.S. Marine was arrested over accusations he assaulted and molested a woman in Naha , the capital of Okinawa . And the situation was compounded last week by allegations that a U.S. airman broke into a family 's home on the island and assaulted a teenage boy before jumping off a third-floor balcony . Okinawa police are investigating the incident , which appears to have taken place during the hours when the U.S. military curfew is supposed to be in effect .
The suspects are accused of beating a Japanese woman and breaking her neck . The case has drawn attention from Japanese officials and Okinawa residents . The issue of violent crimes , especially rapes , by U.S. soldiers in Okinawa has divided the nations .