Japan Protests To Washington After US Marine Arrested In Okinawa Murder
The arrest threatens to inflame local tensions over the heavy concentration of American military installations and personnel stationed in the southern island prefecture.
Japanese police arrested a 20-year-old United States Marine in Okinawa on Sunday on suspicion of robbing and murdering a Japanese woman at a hotel in the prefectural capital of Naha. The Japanese government lodged an immediate diplomatic protest with Washington over the incident.
The suspect, identified by police as Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, is accused of killing 39-year-old Anna Yagi on Saturday morning and stealing her wallet and backpack. Prefectural police said an officer detained Ballard late Saturday while he was walking in an entertainment district. Ballard denied the allegations, according to authorities.
Police said security camera footage showed Ballard entering the hotel room with Yagi and later leaving alone with her belongings. Investigators determined that Yagi died from suffocation. Ballard is assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Force and is stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called the crime brutal and vicious in a public statement. She demanded maximum cooperation from American authorities during the investigation and urged the United States military to tighten discipline to prevent future offenses.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi summoned United States Ambassador to Japan George Glass to deliver a formal protest. Glass pledged that the American government would cooperate fully with Japanese investigators. The United States Marine Corps stated that it takes the allegations seriously and confirmed that the suspect remains in Japanese custody.
Okinawa hosts the majority of the roughly 54,000 United States military personnel based in Japan. Crimes and accidents involving American service members have long triggered local opposition to the bases. Past incidents, including the 1995 rape of a schoolgirl and the 2016 killing of a woman by a former Marine, drew widespread public demonstrations across the prefecture.
Japanese prosecutors will review the case files while police continue their interrogation of Ballard in custody.
