The announcement was made late Thursday by the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.

“We have informed the government of Japan in a December 5 meeting of the U.S.-Japan Joint Committee that the government of the United States is unable to agree to transfer custody in this case prior to indictment,” the statement read.

“The government of the United States has concluded that the circumstances of this case as presented by the government of Japan do not warrant departure from the standard practice as agreed between the United States and Japan.”

Brown, 39, is accused of attacking a woman in a parked car on Nov. 2 near Camp Courtney, where he is assigned to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force’s command element.

Okinawa police would describe the woman only as a “foreign national.” However, Japanese media reports have described her as being from the Philippines.

On Tuesday, Okinawa police issued a warrant for Brown’s arrest and asked U.S. officials to release him to their custody. Under the status of forces agreement between the United States and Japan, U.S. servicemembers charged with crimes that fall under Japanese jurisdiction usually are handed over only if they are indicted in a Japanese court.

But following the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan girl by three U.S. servicemembers, the two countries agreed that under “special consideration,” suspects in serious felonies, such as murder, rape and arson, would be turned over to Japanese custody before indictment.

The U.S.-Japan Joint Committee, made up of senior U.S. and Japanese officials, discussed the police request in Tokyo on Wednesday afternoon.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry issued a statement Thursday that called the U.S. position “extremely regrettable” and declared: “We will continue seeking U.S. cooperation and give the matter firm treatment.”

Earlier in the week, U.S. Forces Japan made assurances that the U.S. military was doing everything it could to cooperate in the investigation.

“U.S. military officials have been cooperating fully with Japanese and Okinawan Prefectural Police in their investigation to date, and will continue to take actions as appropriate according to agreements between the two countries,” U.S. Forces Japan stated in a press release Wednesday afternoon.

Brown, too, has cooperated in the monthlong investigation, meeting with Okinawa police four times in the past two weeks, police and Marine officials said.

Charges include attempted rape and destruction of private property. According to police, the woman said she picked up Brown on Camp Courtney the night of Nov. 27 after he asked for a ride to his home outside the base. She said she didn’t know him before that.

Around 1:30 a.m., he allegedly assaulted her but stopped when she resisted, police said. When she tried to call police on her cellular phone, he snatched it from her and threw it to the ground, shattering it, police said.

The suspect fled, and the woman reported the incident to security guards at the main gate to Camp Courtney, who alerted Okinawa police, police said.

About 20 reporters and camera crews had been camped out in front of the Okinawa police station in Gushikawa to catch a glimpse of Brown on Thursday.

A police spokesman said Brown arrived a little before 10 a.m. and carried his own lunch. He did not leave the station until after 9 p.m.

Police say they interviewed Brown for a few hours Tuesday and Wednesday and once last week. He accompanied investigators to the scene of the alleged incident, they said. He has denied the woman’s accusations, a police spokesman said.

Crimes by American servicemembers are a flashpoint on Okinawa, which is host to about half of the U.S. troops in Japan. One-fifth of the main island is covered by U.S. bases. This case has attracted international attention because of the custody issue.

Most Okinawans want a reduction in troops and bases. They also demand that the SOFA be changed to allow Japanese police to take immediate custody of American servicemembers charged with felony crimes.

In Tokyo on Wednesday, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi called on the U.S. military to take measures to prevent such incidents.

“We must strongly urge that the military improve their attitude and take steps to prevent a recurrence of this sort of crime,” he told reporters.

The incident has already rallied some anti-base groups on the island. In front of the main gate to Camp Courtney Thursday, about 100 labor union members and local residents staged a protest in the rain.

The gates were locked during the brief, peaceful demonstration.

The group presented a protest resolution demanding Brown be turned over to Okinawa police, and that apologies and compensation be paid to the alleged victim. They also demanded changes in the SOFA.

The protest resolution will be sent to Marine Lt. Gen. Wallace C. Gregson, the Okinawa area coordinator and the senior U.S. general on the island.

Emiko Agena, leader of a Gushikawa women’s group, said it was “unacceptable that this incident was caused by a person in a leadership position.”

Agena stressed that the alleged victim’s claims should not be dismissed because she was out so late at night.

“There are some jobs that require women to work late at night,” she said. "We must make our community a safe place to live and work."

Meanwhile, the Okinawa City Assembly on Thursday unanimously adopted a protest resolution concerning the incident and demanded Brown be taken into custody.

The National Police Agency informed the Okinawa Prefectural Police of the rejection of the custody request at 6:15 p.m. Later, Isamu Inamine, chief of the Criminal Division of the Okinawa Prefectural Police held a press conference in Naha.

“I firmly believe that this case, although an attempted rape, is \[a\] heinous crime that is subject of transfer of custody,” Inamine said. He said failure to release Brown makes it more difficult for police to investigate the allegations.

“It is extremely regrettable,” he said. “That’s all I can say."