US military employee held in Japan man's death

TOKYO, Nov 7 (Reuters) A civilian employee of the US military in Japan is being held by local police in connection with the death of a Japanese man after a bar incident, police and US Navy authorities said today.

Nolan Robert Burns, 54, who also runs a bar in Yokosuka city south of Tokyo, was arrested on Friday following an incident at his bar that left 71-year-old Katsumi Nakagawa seriously injured.

Nakagawa died today morning.

According to police, Burns shoved Nakagawa, who was drunk and disturbing other customers. Nakagawa fell over backwards and fractured his skull.

Charges against Burns, who was arrested on suspicion of causing injury, may be upgraded pending the results of an autopsy, a police spokesman said.

The US Naval Forces Japan Public Affairs office issued a statement saying the Navy will continue to work closely with Japanese authorities on the incident.

Yokosuka is the home of a US Navy base. In January, a US sailor killed a 56-year-old Japanese woman in Yokosuka, and was later sentenced to life in prison.

Nearly 50,000 US military personnel are stationed in Japan under a bilateral security treaty, and issues of crime, pollution and noise associated with the US bases make them highly unpopular with local communities.

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