YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — A USS George Washington sailor accused of indecent exposure after stripping naked and urinating in a Yokohama cafe was arrested early Friday morning, Navy and Japanese officials said.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Oscar H. Wiygul III, 23, became the fourth servicemember to be arrested in Japan since the U.S. military instituted an 11 p.m.-5 a.m. curfew following the alleged rape of an Okinawan woman by two U.S. sailors in October.

Kanagawa Prefecture police immediately arrested Wiygul at 3:24 a.m. after finding him naked at a manga cafe, a common type of cafe that offers Japanese animation, Internet access and drinks.

A store worker first alerted police after watching Wiygul walk fully naked around the cafe, a few minutes north of Yokohama Station, a police spokesman said Friday.

Police said Wiygul admitted he had urinated in the cafe but denied getting fully naked. He had been drinking, and police detected a 0.09 blood-alcohol content after administering a breath test, the spokesman added.

Many manga cafes in Japan’s Kanto region remain open overnight and allow customers to sleep in computer chairs or recliners. Inexpensive compared with hotels, the cafes are popular among young adults who have missed their last train home for the night.

Wiygul remained in Japanese custody as of Friday afternoon.

The arrest comes three days after the aircraft carrier USS George Washington and its approximately 5,000 personnel returned from a Western Pacific patrol, after last leaving Yokosuka in August.

Yokosuka base and Commander Task Force 70 officials said they were fully cooperating with the Japanese investigation.

“The Navy takes seriously all incidents and allegations involving misconduct of sailors, Navy civilians and family members,” according to a statement issued by the Navy Friday afternoon. “We demand the highest standards of conduct of all our Navy affiliated personnel at all times. The Navy further takes seriously this alleged breach of curfew.”

slavine@pstripes.osd.mil

kusumotoh@pstripes.osd.mil



