Japan reacted with outrage Sunday after a U.S. Marine was arrested on suspicion of killing a woman at a hotel in Okinawa, the southern prefecture that hosts thousands of American troops.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Japan had formally protested to the United States over the case, while the U.S. ambassador in Tokyo was summoned for talks with Japan’s foreign minister.
Gallery
US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, where the murder suspect was stationed
(Photo: AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)
The killing occurred early Saturday morning at a hotel in Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture. Police identified the suspect as 20-year-old Marine Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, who is suspected of killing 39-year-old local resident Anna Yagi and stealing her wallet and bag.
Police said security footage showed Ballard entering the hotel with Yagi and later leaving alone. Kyodo News reported that her body was found inside a hotel room and that investigators suspect she was strangled.
Ballard was arrested several hours later on Saturday evening after a police officer spotted him walking alone in Naha’s entertainment district. He has denied the allegations.
Japan demands tighter discipline
The case has sparked widespread anger in Japan, where Takaichi has sought closer strategic and military cooperation with Washington since taking office last year.
“It is extremely regrettable that such a cruel and brutal incident occurred,” Takaichi said. “The Japanese government strongly protests to the U.S. side and demands maximum cooperation with the investigation.”
She also called on Washington to enforce “strict discipline” among the large number of American troops stationed in Japan.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi summoned U.S. Ambassador George Glass and told him he was “outraged” by the case, according to the Japanese government.
Prime Minister Takaichi alongside President Trump at a rally with U.S. troops near Tokyo during his visit to Japan last October
(Photo: AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
The U.S. Marine Corps said it was fully cooperating with Japanese authorities and confirmed that the suspect was assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa and based at Futenma.
“The Marine Corps takes these allegations with the utmost seriousness and expects all Marines to uphold the highest standards of conduct,” it said.
Japan permanently hosts around 50,000 U.S. service members, more than any other country, and their presence is regarded by Tokyo as an important security guarantee as concerns over China continue to grow.
About half of those troops are stationed in Okinawa, Japan’s southernmost prefecture, whose location gives it major strategic importance. The islands lie relatively close to Taiwan, with one island in the prefecture only about 100 kilometers from the democratically governed island claimed by China.
Under Takaichi, Japan has been moving away from decades of strict postwar pacifism and pursuing a military buildup, much of it centered on Okinawa, a policy that has drawn sharp criticism from Beijing.
Decades of anger over US bases
But the massive American military presence in Okinawa has generated resentment among local residents for decades. Complaints range from aircraft noise and the concentration of military installations to crimes committed by U.S. service members.
One of the most notorious cases came in 1995, when three American servicemen raped a 12-year-old girl. The assault triggered huge protests demanding a reduction in the U.S. military presence on the islands.
Futenma, where the Marine now suspected in the latest case was stationed, has itself long faced local opposition because of its location in a densely populated area.
Takaichi’s government is currently advancing plans to relocate the base to a less crowded part of Okinawa’s eastern coast, but opponents have demanded that the American military leave the area altogether. The latest case could further complicate those efforts.
“The incident has caused tremendous shock and added to the fear among Okinawa residents who have already been forced to live alongside U.S. bases,” Okinawa Gov. Genta Koja said Sunday. “It is absolutely unforgivable, and we are furious.”
He said the case showed that measures previously announced by the U.S. military following crimes involving American personnel had failed to improve discipline.
“The fact that an incident like this has happened again leaves us no choice but to conclude that the U.S. military’s efforts to maintain discipline, train its personnel and take other such measures are not effective at all,” he said.
The arrest comes as Takaichi attempts to strengthen Japan’s security alliance with Washington while managing deep-rooted local opposition to the concentration of U.S. forces in Okinawa, where another serious criminal case involving an American serviceman has again brought that tension to the surface.