US Marine arrested for alleged murder of woman in Okinawa sparks outrage in Japan

TOKYO — Japanese police have arrested a U.S. Marine in connection with the robbery and alleged murder of a woman in Okinawa, officials said Sunday, the latest criminal case in the South Island where the heavy presence of U.S. troops remains a sensitive issue.

Okinawa Prefectural Police said they arrested a 20-year-old Marine stationed at Futenma Air Base on suspicion of killing a 39-year-old woman at a hotel in Naha, Okinawa’s capital, and stealing her wallet and backpack in the early hours of Saturday.

Kyodo News, citing police, reported that the woman’s body was found in her hotel room and that she appeared to have been strangled to death.

Police said security camera footage showed the man believed to be the suspect entering the hotel with the victim and leaving alone. A police officer arrested the suspect after spotting him walking alone on a street in the Naha entertainment district on Saturday evening, Kyodo said.