A US Marine stationed on Okinawa has been arrested on suspicion of robbing and killing a 39-year-old woman in a hotel in Naha, the island's capital, in a case that has revived long-running anger over the American military presence in southern Japan.
According to local police, Devin Jacob Ballard, who is based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, was arrested on October 4 on suspicion of robbing and murdering Anna Yagi. Local media reported that she was choked to death and her wallet stolen. Ballard has denied the allegations. Japan's prime minister has condemned the case as a "heinous crime".
On Saturday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by phone with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu, according to the State Department. Rubio expressed condolences over the death and pledged that Washington would communicate and cooperate fully with the Japanese government and local authorities as they investigate. The two also discussed US sanctions on the International Criminal Court and the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting in Atlanta, due to begin on October 30. Meanwhile, US military personnel on Okinawa have been given a monthlong curfew and barred from drinking alcohol while they undergo training in standards and discipline. Earlier, forces were barred from drinking for 48 hours.
On the island, reactions are strong but not uniform. "How many more women in Okinawa have to suffer like this? Everyone is angry," Takako Kakazu, a 55-year-old housewife, told AFP, adding that she wants American troops to leave. Airi Hiane, a 23-year-old cafe worker, said her first reaction was "Not again", and argued that the US military must follow the rules if it stays. Yet she called it difficult to demand its complete removal, and others noted that many local businesses depend on Americans. Military base-related income accounts for around 5 per cent of the region's annual total.
The case matters because Okinawa carries an outsized share of the US military footprint in Japan. Japan hosts the largest overseas contingent of US forces anywhere in the world, and most of the 18,000 Marines based in the country are stationed on Okinawa. Crimes involving US personnel have long inflamed local criticism, even as Japan, whose constitution is pacifist, relies on American forces as a deterrent against potential attack and stresses the importance of their constant readiness.
The tensions are also felt by Americans living on the island. Stephen Butler, who owns a bar in Naha, said the incident "does not look good for the rest of us that are here, that want to be here peacefully", though he said relations between locals and foreigners are generally good. His business has suffered from the drinking ban.