Takaichi mentions Okinawa murder in parliament speech as U.S. military weighs response

Marine’s arrest over the alleged murder of a woman in Okinawa last weekend took on a national focus Monday, when Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi mentioned the incident in opening remarks of a key policy speech before parliament. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, who is stationed at U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, is suspected of killing the 39-year-old woman at a Naha hotel and stealing her backpack and wallet.

In an apparent symbol of the importance Takaichi has placed on the incident, she touched on the “heinous crime” at the beginning of her speech setting out the government’s priorities for the fall session of parliament.