Okinawa's governor has shed light on his government's weeks-long silence after two US Marines were accused of sexual assault. Tamaki Denny says the women who claim to be victims did not want the cases made public.



Police in the southwestern Japanese prefecture referred the two incidents to prosecutors earlier this month. The charges against one of the suspects were dropped on Thursday.



One case is alleged to have taken place last month, and the other in January. They came to light in the media on Wednesday.



The prefectural government has known since April 7.



Speaking on Friday, Tamaki said the police explained that the women who claim to be victims did not want their cases in the media.



He also said that his office has protested about the incidents to the US Marine Corps and the Foreign Ministry's liaison office in Okinawa.



Some previous cases of alleged sexual assault by US military personnel were not immediately reported to the prefectural government.



Authorities later set up a system between the police and local government for sharing information about any arrests or prosecutions.