Marine on suspicion of murdering a woman on Okinawa, a court spokesman told on Monday, in a case that prompted public outrage. The alleged killing of the 39-year-old Japanese woman caused Japan's premier to slam the "heinous crime" and reignited controversy over the heavy U.S. military presence on the southern island. "The case was indicted on October 25," said the spokesman for the court in Naha, confirming media reports that the suspect had been indicted on charges of murder and robbery.
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 of Naha. The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that, according to the indictment document, the suspect allegedly strangled the woman from Naha in a hotel with a telephone cord on October 3.
He is also accused of stealing a backpack containing the woman's wallet and other belongings, the newspaper said. The Marine denied the allegations at the time of his arrest but has now made statements that imply some involvement in the case, the Yomiuri and other media said, citing investigative sources. Crimes including rapes, assaults, hit-and-runs and drunk driving by U.S. military personnel have long triggered protests on the southern Japanese island, which has for years urged other regions in the country to share the burden of hosting U.S. troops.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi has said that officials were reviewing the off-base code of conduct for U.S. troops in Japan following the alleged killing. The high-level bilateral consultations will examine off-duty conduct and the "liberty" policy governing off-base private activities of U.S. military personnel, he said. "We plan to hold discussions including whether the existing rules are effectively functioning," Motegi said, adding that "matters such as patrols and curfew management" would be under review in talks with the United States.
The existing policy, updated in 2024 following a string of sexual assaults by U.S. military personnel in Okinawa, includes a ban on U.S. military personnel drinking in public off base between 1:00 am and 5:00 am or going to bars during those hours. The U.S. military enacted a two-day operational pause after the Marine's arrest to reinforce discipline and standards, followed by a month-long curfew. Crimes committed by U.S. personnel have been a thorn in relations between the close security allies.
The number of arrests related to U.S. service members and their families exceeded 100 last year, according to prefectural police. Last year, a Japanese court sentenced a U.S. Marine accused of choking and attempting to rape a woman in her 20s to seven years in prison.
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