A U.S. Marine stationed in Japan has been arrested on suspicion of robbing and killing a 39-year-old woman at a hotel in Naha, Okinawa, prompting the Japanese government to lodge a formal protest with the United States.
Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is suspected of killing Anna Yagi early Saturday and taking her wallet and backpack, according to Japanese police. Ballard has denied the allegations, police said.
Ballard is assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Force and based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, according to the Marine Corps.
Surveillance footage showed Yagi entering the hotel with Ballard before he later left alone, Stars and Stripes reported, citing Okinawa police. A hotel employee found Yagi unresponsive after she failed to check out. Police later located Ballard in Okinawa City and arrested him, the outlet reported.
The Marine Corps said it was cooperating with Japanese authorities and that Ballard remained in Japanese custody.
“The Marine Corps takes these allegations very seriously and expects every Marine to adhere to the highest standards of behavior,” the service said in a statement obtained by Reuters.
The arrest drew swift condemnation from senior Japanese officials. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi offered condolences to Yagi’s family and said her government had lodged a “strong protest” with the United States.
“The occurrence of such an extremely brutal and heinous incident is a matter of profound regret,” Takaichi said, according to an English translation of her Japanese-language statement.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi summoned U.S. Ambassador George Glass and called for full U.S. cooperation with the investigation, stricter discipline among American military personnel and measures to prevent similar incidents. Glass expressed regret over the loss of life and pledged U.S. cooperation with Japanese authorities.
A Recurring Source of Friction
The case adds to decades of tension surrounding the large U.S. military presence on Okinawa. Most of the roughly 18,000 Marines stationed in Japan are based there, and crimes involving U.S. personnel, along with aircraft accidents and noise complaints, have periodically fueled local opposition to the American military presence.
Okinawa remains strategically important to the U.S.-Japan alliance because of its location in the western Pacific near Taiwan, amid heightened concern over Chinese military activity in the region.
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