Kadena Air Base is home to the 18th Wing on Okinawa. (Jessi Roth/U.S. Air Force)

A Chinese man was arrested over the weekend after allegedly walking onto a U.S. Air Force base on Okinawa, local police said.

Dai Long, 37, is accused of entering Kadena Air Base through Gate 2 at 11:32 a.m. Saturday, an Okinawa city police spokesman said by phone Tuesday. The gate sits along the base’s southeastern fence line and opens on to a popular nightlife and shopping district.

Eighteenth Security Forces Squadron personnel apprehended Long on the base, questioned him and turned him over to Okinawa Prefectural Police, the 18th Wing wrote in an unsigned email Tuesday. He was arrested nearly three hours later, said the city police spokesman, who did not know how far Long had walked inside Kadena.

“Our defenders’ vigilance and professionalism were instrumental in the swift response that safeguarded the base and our personnel,” wing commander Brig. Gen. John Gallemore said, according to the email. “I would like to thank the Okinawa Prefectural Police for their quick response and our ongoing partnership to ensure the safety of both our communities.”

Long, who was visiting Okinawa for sightseeing, told police he believed he could “freely enter” the base, the spokesman said. He was arrested on suspicion of violating the Special Criminal Act for trespassing on a U.S. military facility.

The case has been forwarded to the Naha Public Prosecutors Office. Long remained in police custody as of Tuesday morning, the spokesman said.

Prosecutors, not police, decide formal charges under Japan’s justice system.

Some Japanese government officials speak to the press only on condition of anonymity.