Japan’s Prime Minister lodges protest with U.S. over Marine murder allegation

Japan’s government has lodged a formal protest with Washington after a US Marine was arrested in Okinawa on suspicion of robbing and killing a Japanese woman, a case that is already stirring fresh anger over the American military presence on the island.

Police said Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is suspected of killing 39-year-old Anna Yagi at a hotel in Naha, the capital of Japan’s southernmost prefecture, yesterday and of taking her wallet and backpack.

Ballard has denied the allegations, police said.

In a statement, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi condemned the alleged crime in stark terms.

“The occurrence of such an extremely brutal and vicious incident is extremely regrettable,” Ms Takaichi said.

She added that Tokyo had “strongly” protested to the United States and was seeking maximum cooperation with the investigation, while also pressing for stricter discipline and comprehensive steps to prevent a recurrence.

Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi echoed the outrage in remarks carried by national broadcaster NHK.

“Such an incident is unacceptable and I am deeply outraged,” he said.

The US embassy and the Marine Corps offered condolences and said they were working with Japanese authorities as the investigation proceeds.

In its statement, the Marines said the suspect—assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Force and based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma—was in Japanese custody.

“The Marine Corps takes these allegations very seriously and expects every Marine to adhere to the highest standards of behaviour,” it said.

Okinawa hosts most of the roughly 18,000 US Marines stationed in Japan. The United States controlled the islands from the end of World War II until 1972, and the concentration of bases has long been a flashpoint for local residents.

Over the years, tensions have repeatedly flared over issues such as aircraft noise, crashes and allegations involving service members.

The 1995 rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan girl by three US servicemen triggered mass protests that still loom large in public memory.

Yesterday’s incidnet could complicate MsTakaichi’s efforts to relocate some Marines from the busy Futenma air base to a more remote facility at Henoko. Opponents want the troops moved out of the prefecture.

Okinawa’s strategic location—at its closest point about 100km from Taiwan—has made it central to Japan-US defence planning, with both countries viewing the prefecture as critical to deterring potential military aggression from China.