Tokyo: A US sailor today admitted to police he killed a Japanese taxi driver last month, reports said, amid growing tensions between the US military and local communities here.

The 22-year-old sailor said he stabbed the driver last month in the naval port city of Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, Kyodo News and Jiji Press reported, citing unnamed police sources.

The police are set to seek an arrest warrant for the serviceman, a Nigerian national, who may be transferred to Japan's custody as early as tomorrow, the reports said. The suspect has told Japanese police that he heard a voice in his head telling him to kill somebody, Jiji Press reported.

The US military and Japanese police were not immediately available for comment. The incident is the latest in a series of high-profile alleged crimes in Japan linked to US servicemen that have strained relations between the US military and local communities.

Shigefumi Matsuzawa, governor of Kanagawa Prefecture, which hosts the Yokouka base, voiced anger over felonies allegedly committed by US servicemen. "If the sailor really is behind the murder case, it would be regrettable and I feel strong anger," Matsuzawa told reporters. 

Source : PTI