Anger in Japan grows after US Marine is arrested over the killing of a woman on Okinawa

TOKYO (AP) — The arrest of a U.S. Marine on suspicion of robbing and killing a local woman on Okinawa has drawn condemnation from Japan's leaders and renewed protests against the heavy American military presence on the southern island.

The alleged killing could complicate Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s push to strengthen Japanese military defense on the island and to work more closely with the U.S. military to deter China in the region.

Okinawa prefectural police said they arrested Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, who is stationed at Futenma Air Station, on suspicion of strangling Anna Yagi, 39, at a hotel in the island’s capital city of Naha early Saturday and stealing her wallet and backpack. He has denied the allegations, according to Japanese media.

Security camera footage showed a man wearing a black top, trousers and white sneakers entering the hotel with the woman and later leaving alone.

Ballard was arrested when a patrolling officer saw him walking later Saturday in an entertainment district in Okinawa City, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) northeast of Naha. His shaved head and the tattoos on his arms matched those of the man in security footage, Kyodo news agency reported.

“I’m outraged and flabbergasted to hear that a suspect came to the (entertainment area) after committing a murder,” Kenji Higa, who lives in Okinawa City, told the Okinawa Times.

People in Okinawa have long been wary of the U.S. presence on the island but many have come to see its strategic value due to what is widely viewed as a growing threat from China.

Okinawa was under U.S. occupation from World War II until 1972. Today it hosts 70% of America’s military facilities and most of the 50,000 U.S. troops based in Japan today.

There has been anger over increasing crime linked to the U.S. military on the island. The number of U.S. military-related criminal cases rose to 101 last year from about 40 in 2020, according to prefectural police.

After the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old girl by three U.S. service members, huge crowds protested the heavy U.S. troop presence on Okinawa. There was also anger over the rape of a teenage girl by a U.S. service member in 2024 and the delayed disclosure of the crime.

About 160 people gathered at a protest Sunday in Naha, condemning the crime and renewing demands that U.S. military bases be removed from the island.

One sign read: “We’ve had enough of this!”

“The case deals a major shock and adds fear to the Okinawans who have already been forced to live next to U.S. bases,” newly elected Okinawa Gov. Genta Koja told reporters Sunday night in Naha. “It is absolutely unforgivable and we are outraged.”

Koja said the case underscored the ineffectiveness of past disciplinary measures taken by the U.S. military following similar crimes.

“I’m enraged by the loss of a precious life of an Okinawan resident,” Koja told Lt. Gen. Benjamin Watson, commander of III Marine Expeditionary Force, and U.S. Consul General in Naha, Andrew Ou on Monday when he summoned them to the prefectural government. He demanded that U.S. officials take effective preventive measures.

Watson replied: “I recognize the serious incident caused significant concern and anxiety among the residents of Okinawa, our neighbors” and that “we are committed to being good neighbors … and earning the trust of the Okinawan people.”

In Tokyo, Takaichi condemned the crime and demanded full cooperation and tougher disciplinary and preventive measures by the United States.

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi also summoned U.S. Forces Japan Commander Lt. Gen. Stephen Jost to his ministry, while Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi expressed his outrage to the U.S. ambassador to Japan, George Glass.

Glass, on X, expressed his condolences Sunday to the victim's family and said the United States is cooperating with Japanese authorities.

On Monday, he said he is telling U.S. military commanders of the need “to hold our American service members to the very highest levels of discipline and integrity" and that he and Watson discussed the “next steps in strengthening that bond of trust with our Japanese partners and base-hosting communities.”

Under a bilateral status of forces agreement, the case is being handled by the Japanese authorities because the suspect was not on duty and was arrested off base.

Japanese prosecutors started examining the suspect's case on Monday to determine whether to press formal charges in coming weeks.

If convicted, he could face life in prison or the death penalty.