TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- A U.S. sailor sought for information about a taxi driver's killing near a Navy base has been taken into custody and charged with desertion, according to the U.S. Navy.

He has not been named as a suspect in the death of a 61-year-old taxi driver found on Wednesday with stab wounds to the neck a mile from the U.S. Navy base at Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, the Navy said.

The sailor, whose name was not released, was being held in U.S. custody at the Navy base.

A credit card believed to belong to a U.S. service member was found in the cab, the national Kyodo news agency of Japan reported on Friday.

Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba told reporters on Friday that the U.S. military had informed him that one of its service members may be involved.

The U.S. Navy announced on Friday that the sailor had gone missing and was being sought for desertion. E-mail to a friend

CNN's Yoko Wakatsuki in Tokyo contributed to this report

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