President Obama is in Japan today for the G7 summit, amid increasing tensions between the two countries over a U.S. military contractor’s alleged rape and murder of a 20-year-old Japanese woman on the island of Okinawa. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke out.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe: “I feel strong indignation about the selfish and extremely mean crime. It has not only shaken the citizens of Okinawa, but also the whole of Japan. And I have told President Obama to understand the feelings of these people.”

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was speaking at a news conference alongside President Obama. At that same news conference, President Obama apologized.

President Barack Obama: “I want to emphasize that the United States is appalled by any violent crime that may have occurred or been carried out by any U.S. personnel or U.S. contractors. We consider it inexcusable, and we are committed to doing everything that we can to prevent any crimes from taking place.”

For decades, Okinawa residents have called for the expulsion of U.S. troops in large part over a history of sexual assaults. This comes as President Obama is slated to head to Hiroshima tomorrow, where he will become the first sitting U.S. president to visit the city where the U.S. dropped a nuclear bomb toward the end of World War II.