Woman Gang-Raped by Foreigners, Police Say

A young Japanese woman was gang-raped early today by several foreign men on the island of Okinawa, where most of the U.S. military forces in Japan are based, police said.

The men appeared to be members of the U.S. military, the Kyodo news agency reported, but police could not immediately confirm that. The suspects were still at large and few details were available, a police spokesman said.

The incident comes just a day before Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is to visit Washington, where the U.S. military presence on Okinawa is one of the topics certain to be on the agenda for his talks with President Bush.