A day after U.S. President Barack Obama expressed deep regret over the slaying of an Okinawa woman linked to a U.S. former marine, anger over the incident showed no signs of abating Thursday with Okinawa lawmakers calling for withdrawal of the U.S. Marines from their prefecture.

During a joint news conference with Obama on Wednesday night following their meeting in Ise, Mie Prefecture, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lodged a strong protest over the incident, as a grim-faced Obama vowed to take every possible measure to prevent a recurrence of base-related crimes in Japan.

The two leaders' stoic expressions throughout the 50-minute joint news conference underlined their deep concern over the possible impact on the Japan-U.S. military alliance.