TOKYO, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- U.S. ambassador to Tokyo Walter Mondale apologized Tuesday to a Japanese governor for the rape and abduction of a primary schoolgirl, allegedly by three U.S. servicemen.

"Mondale expressed -- on behalf of the U.S. government -- sincere apologies for the suffering this crime has brought to the child, her family and the people of Okinawa Prefecture," said a prepared statement from the U.S. Embassy.

Okinawa Gov. Masahide Ota warned that the alleged crime could damage U.S. relations and urged government action on the matter.

The U.S. envoy's apology follows outrage in Japan for the Sept. 4 assault on the young girl on the southern island of Okinawa, which has sparked public demands for a revision of the Status of Forces Agreement.

A U.S. sailor and two Marines stationed on the southern island of Okinawa were detained by U.S. military police after Japanese police put the men on the wanted list following the abduction and rape of a local schoolgirl. The girl was reportedly bound with adhesive tape in the attack.

Navy Seaman Marcus D. Gill, 22, of Jasper Texas, Marine Pfc. Kendrick M. Ledet, 20, of Waycross, Ga., and Marine Pfc. Rodrico Harp, 21 of Griffin, Ga., are being held in military detention, authorities said.

A live-fire artillery training session scheduled for Sept. 18-21 in an area near the victim's home, U.S. military authorities said.

Angry Japanese have said the Status of Forces Agreement, which has remained unchanged since 1957, protects U.S. military personnel from Japanese law, and the rape has sparked ill feelings about the thousands of U.S. servicemen stationed in Okinawa.

"The ambassador emphasized that this type of behavior is completely unacceptable and is not what the U.S. military nor the American people stand for," said the embassy statement.

There are some 40,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in Japan and the case has fueled calls for a reduction of the U.S. military presence in Okinawa and for a revision of the agreement.

Okinawa's cities, towns and assemblies have adopted motions urging Tokyo to revise its military pact with the United States. and some petitions from the island have called for the total withdrawal of U.S. forces in the area. Okinawa saw the only ground combat between Japanese and U.S. forces during World War II.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono said the government has no plan to immediately seek the revision of the agreement on U.S. forces in Japan, although he agreed that those responsible for raping and abducting the girl should be quickly brought to justice.

"I understand very well the Okinawans' discontent arising from the concentration of U.S. bases there," a Foreign Ministry official quoted Kono as saying. "But we must take into consideration the U.S. role in this region, both from a bilateral point of view and from the Asia- Pacific as a whole."

--UPI

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