US Marine arrested over murder of woman in Okinawa, Japan - BBC News
BBC Homepage
Skip to content
Accessibility Help
Your account
Home
News
...
A US Marine has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman's body was found in a hotel in Okinawa, Japan, local officials say.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi described the crime as a "brutal and heinous" robbery and murder. She stated that she had urged the US to "enforce stricter discipline" of its personnel.
Japan's public broadcaster NHK identified the victim as Yagi Anna, 39, and the suspect as Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, who is stationed at US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
"We are actively cooperating with Japanese authorities, in response to allegations of serious criminal actions by a Marine," the Marine Corps said on social media, extending condolences to the victim's family.
Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi confirmed that the woman's body was discovered early Saturday morning in a hotel in Naha City, the capital of the Okinawa prefecture.
"Such an incident is utterly inexcusable and fills me with strong indignation," wrote Koizumi on social media, adding that "incidents and accidents involving U.S. military personnel cause significant anxiety to the local community and must never occur."
The US Embassy in Tokyo affirmed its full cooperation with the Japanese government and local police. Japan's foreign ministry summoned US ambassador George Glass to discuss the incident on Sunday.
Okinawa is home to several US military bases and tens of thousands of American troops.
Okinawa Governor Genta Koja expressed frustration, stating that the prefecture has repeatedly demanded action from the US to prevent such incidents and saw this alleged crime as a sign of ineffective discipline measures.