US Marine arrested over murder of Japanese woman in Okinawa

A US Marine stationed on the Japanese island of Okinawa has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a Japanese woman, police said on Sunday, prompting a formal protest from Tokyo.

Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is suspected of killing Anna Yagi, 39, in a hotel in Naha, Okinawa’s capital, on Saturday and taking her wallet and backpack, Dawn reported, citing Reuters and AFP. Ballard denied the allegations, police said.

Caught on camera

Public broadcaster NHK, citing investigation sources, said CCTV footage near the scene showed a foreign man entering a room with a woman and later leaving with her belongings. Police found a 20-year-old man matching the description and asked him to come to a police station, where he was arrested.

“We have lost a family member and are deeply saddened. My parents, in particular, are utterly devastated at the loss of their daughter,” the woman’s brother said, according to the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

“Exceptionally brutal and vicious”

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Japan had lodged a protest with the US and called the crime “exceptionally brutal and vicious”. She said Tokyo had urged Washington “to provide maximum cooperation with the investigation, enforce stricter discipline among US military personnel, and take thorough measures to prevent the recurrence of similar crimes”.

“Incidents and accidents involving US military personnel cause great anxiety among the local community and must not be allowed to happen,” Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said.

US Ambassador George Glass offered “sincere condolences” and pledged full cooperation. The Marine Corps said the suspect, assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Force at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, was in Japanese custody, and that it took the allegations “very seriously”.

A long history of crimes

Crimes by US personnel, including rapes, assaults, hit-and-runs and drunk-driving accidents, have long sparked protests on Okinawa:

• 2017: a former Marine and base worker was jailed for life for the rape and murder of a local woman
• 2017: US Forces Japan banned all personnel from drinking after a drunk Marine crashed into a mini-truck, killing its 61-year-old driver
• Last year: a Marine was jailed for seven years for choking and attempting to rape a woman
• 2024: arrests of US personnel reached 80, the highest in 20 years

Around 6,000 US military personnel have been arrested since Okinawa was returned to Japan in 1972, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun.

Crimes committed by US personnel have long been a thorn in relations between the two close security allies. The Marine Corps said it “expects every Marine to adhere to the highest standards of behaviour”, and the US embassy said it was cooperating fully with the Japanese authorities.

Okinawa’s burden

The US has about 54,000 military personnel in Japan, most of them on Okinawa, which hosts around 70 percent of US military facilities in the country despite being a small island.

Why it matters

The killing will deepen anger on Okinawa over the heavy US military presence and strain ties between Tokyo and Washington, close allies whose relationship has repeatedly been tested by crimes involving American troops.

This article draws on reporting by Dawn, Reuters and AFP.