The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Tokyo

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed deep regret Wednesday over a Marine's alleged rape of a Japanese girl and hoped the incident would not hurt ties between the close allies.

Visiting Tokyo on the last leg of a three-nation regional tour, Rice also voiced guarded optimism about North Korea, leaving her chief negotiator in China to help end an impasse over the communist state's nuclear disarmament.

Rice pledged to see that justice is served in the rape case on the southern island of Okinawa, which is home to half of the more than 40,000 US troops in Japan.

"We just regret deeply that this happened," Rice said over the alleged sexual assault and a series of other incidents linked to US troops stationed in Japan.