US military restricts troops from leaving the base in Okinawa after Marine is arrested in a killing

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military in Okinawa, Japan, is pausing all operations for two days, restricting the ability of troops to leave their base and ordering training after a Marine was arrested on suspicion of killing a local woman.

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

The arrest of the Marine has renewed protests against the heavy American military presence on the southern island and the rise in military-related crime. The killing could also complicate Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s push to strengthen the Japanese military on Okinawa and to work more closely with the U.S. military to deter China in the region.

“We live, work, and socialize alongside the people of Okinawa; their home is our home,” Watson wrote. “Every interaction with our neighbors either builds or undermines the trust that is essential to our team. When that trust is damaged, it affects the strength of our alliance and the security of this region. Accordingly, we will take time to think hard about discipline, standards and our alliance responsibilities.”

The 48-hour pause will last from Wednesday through Friday. Service members will receive training on standards, discipline and “our responsibilities as members of the Okinawan community.” Restricting the ability of troops to leave military bases and interact with the local community is a common response by military leaders to major crimes.

Okinawa prefectural police said they arrested Lance Cpl. 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, Naha, early Saturday and stealing her wallet and backpack. He has denied the allegations, according to Japanese media.

Security camera footage showed a man 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 15 miles (25 kilometers) 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 must say, discipline and troop education are not working at all,” Kenji Higa, who lives in Okinawa City, told the Okinawa Times. He was referring to the U.S. military’s measures taken in response to past criminal cases.

People in Okinawa have long opposed the heavy U.S. military presence on the island, but some 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 the U.S. population on the island is nearly 80,000, with nearly 30,000 being active duty troops from all four branches of the armed forces, though the Marines make up the bulk of the forces.

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

After the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old girl by three U.S. service members, huge crowds protested the 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.

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Associated Press writers Konstantin Toropin in Washington and Ed White in Detroit contributed to this report.