A 20 year old U.S. Marine stationed in Okinawa has been arrested in Japan on suspicion of robbing and murdering a Japanese woman.
The suspect was identified by Okinawa police as Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, attached to the III Marine Expeditionary Force at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
Police said Ballard is suspected of killing 39-year-old Anna Yagi at a hotel in Naha, the capital of Okinawa prefecture, in the early hours of Saturday, October 4. He is also accused of stealing her wallet and backpack. Yagi was found unconscious by a hotel employee after she failed to check out and was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to Japanese media, security camera footage showed a foreign man entering the hotel with the victim and later leaving alone with her belongings. Police said an officer spotted Ballard walking alone in Naha’s entertainment district late Saturday and took him in for questioning before his arrest on Sunday. Police said he has denied the allegations.
The incident has sparked outrage in Japan. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi described it as an “extremely brutal and heinous incident” and said the government has lodged a strong protest with the United States.
“As the Government of Japan, we have lodged a strong protest with the U.S. side and firmly demanded maximum cooperation with the investigation, strict discipline among U.S. military personnel, and thorough measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents,” Takaichi wrote on X.
Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi also summoned U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass over the case, while Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the incident was “intolerable and absolutely unacceptable.”
The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo said it is aware a U.S. service member is in custody following the death of a Japanese national and is cooperating with Japanese authorities.
“We extend our sincere condolences to the victim’s family,” the embassy said.
The III Marine Expeditionary Force said the Marine is in custody of local authorities and that it takes the allegations very seriously.
About 54,000 U.S. military personnel are stationed in Japan, with about half in Okinawa. Crimes involving U.S. personnel have long been a source of tension on the island.
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