Okinawa governor wants discipline for US military in Japan after murder linked to Marine

TOKYO (AP) — The governor of the southern Japanese island of Okinawa demanded Wednesday that the central government do more to ensure effective discipline among U.S. service members on the southern island following the arrest of a U.S. Marine on accusations that he robbed and murdered a local woman.

Governor Genta Koja, in Tokyo for the first time since taking office last month, met with Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi to express outrage over the killing. He also asked the defense minister for further efforts to reduce the burden of hosting U.S. military bases on the small island.

People in Okinawa have long opposed the heavy U.S. military presence on the island and complained about noise, pollution and crime related to American bases, though some have come to see its strategic value due to what is widely viewed as a growing threat from China.

Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, a 20-year-old Ohio native belonging to the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of strangling Anna Yagi, 39, at a hotel and stealing her wallet and backpack. He has denied the allegations, according to Japanese media.

“ Okinawa has requested preventive measures every time similar crimes were repeated in past, and now we have this case again,” Koja told Koizumi as they met in the minister's office packed with reporters and cameras clicking.

“I must say past disciplinary measures and human rights education implemented by the U.S. military have not worked at all,” Koja said.

Koizumi said that he was aware of Okinawa's concerns and that his government will cooperate with the U.S. side to discuss effective preventive measures.

Hours earlier, the U.S. military in Okinawa announced a 48-hour pause of all military operations for training through noon on Friday, as well as restricting the ability of troops to leave their base and prohibiting consumption of alcohol.

Lt. Gen. Benjamin Watson, commander of III Marine Expeditionary Force, wrote in a letter posted Tuesday on X that episodes like these “demand we pause for reflection” and that serving on the Japanese island “comes with responsibility.”

U.S. troops on Okinawa will be under a curfew from midnight to 5 a.m. for 30 days following the two-day training period, Watson said.

A majority of the more than 50,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan under a bilateral security agreement are based on the island.

Koja is also set to meet with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi later Wednesday to make similar requests.

AP writers Ben Finley and Konstantin Toropin in Washington and Ed White in Detroit contributed to this report.