Japanese prosecutors have indicted a US Marine on murder and robbery charges over the alleged killing of a 39-year-old woman at a hotel in Naha, Okinawa.
A court spokesman in Naha said the indictment was filed on October 25 against Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, who is stationed at Futenma Air Station.
Ballard was arrested after Anna Yagi was found dead. Okinawa prefectural police allege that he strangled her with a telephone cord at the hotel on October 3 and took a backpack containing her wallet and other belongings.
The Marine denied the allegations when he was arrested. Japanese media, citing investigative sources, have since reported that he made statements implying some involvement in the case.
The alleged killing prompted public anger in Okinawa and condemnation from Japan’s prime minister, who described it as a “heinous crime”.
US Marine indictment reignites Okinawa tensions
The case has renewed longstanding controversy over the concentration of US military personnel and facilities on the southern Japanese island.
Crimes involving US service members, including alleged rapes, assaults, hit-and-runs and drink-driving incidents, have repeatedly led to protests. Okinawa has for years called for other parts of Japan to share the burden of hosting US troops.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Japan and the United States were reviewing rules governing the off-base conduct of US military personnel.
“We plan to hold discussions including whether the existing rules are effectively functioning,” Mr Motegi said. He added that patrols and curfew management would be considered in the talks.
The existing policy, updated in 2024 after a series of sexual assaults in Okinawa, bars US military personnel from drinking in public off base between 1am and 5am or visiting bars during those hours.
After Ballard’s arrest, the US military imposed a two-day operational pause to reinforce discipline and standards, followed by a month-long curfew.
Okinawa hosts 70% of America’s military facilities in Japan and most of the 54,000 US troops stationed in the country, despite making up only 0.6% of Japan’s landmass.
The island remained under US control after the Second World War and was returned to Japan in 1972, but the number of US bases there has remained a source of resentment.
More than 100 arrests linked to US service members and their families were recorded by prefectural police last year. In another case, a US Marine accused of choking and attempting to rape a woman in her 20s was sentenced by a Japanese court to seven years in prison.
