TOKYO, February 26 - RAPSI, Ksenia Naka. The first hearing of the case of two US marines charged with raping a Japanese woman in October 2012 has begun in Naha, the capital of Okinawa.

US Navy Seaman Christopher Daniel Browning and Petty Officer Skyler Dozierwalker of Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in Texas were detained on October 16, 2012 in Okinawa on suspicion of raping a Japanese woman.

The two men, both 23, were at the Kadena Air Base in Okinawa on business. The night before their departure, they allegedly attacked and raped a girl after drinking in a bar. Based on the girl's description given to the police, the two men were taken into custody several hours later in their hotel.

The NHK network reported that the two marines have pleaded guilty to raping the woman, but deny that they planned the crime together in advance.

The incident has provoked mass outrage in Okinawa, where about half of all US military personnel in Japan are stationed. The islanders demand that the number of US bases and military servicemen in Okinawa be cut.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry has sent a note of protest to US Ambassador John Roos, and the command of US bases in Japan has imposed a curfew and a ban on drinking outside the bases.

Offences committed by US military personnel in Japan have soured bilateral relations. The most shocking of these cases was the rape of a 12-year-old Japanese girl by three US soldiers in 1995.