An American soldier is suspected of having killed a Japanese national on the island of Okinawa.
Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is suspected of killing Anna Yagi, 39, on Saturday in a hotel in Naha, the capital of the southernmost prefecture, and stealing her wallet and backpack, local police said. Ballard denied the allegations, police said.
The Marine was stationed at Futenma Air Base on the island of Okinawa, police said, adding that he was arrested at 1 a.m. Sunday morning local time.
“An investigation is underway to determine the facts of the case, and the United States is communicating and cooperating with the Japanese government and local authorities,” the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo said in a post on X on Sunday.
NBC News has contacted the Pentagon for further comment.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called the death a robbery and suspected murder.
“The occurrence of such an extremely brutal and heinous incident is a matter of deep regret and, as the Japanese government, we have lodged a strong protest with the American side,” she said on social media.
Japan’s Defense Ministry said it was “deeply outraged by the extremely brutal and heinous crime committed by a US Marine.”
He said on X that he had made “a strong demand for stricter discipline and thorough measures to prevent this from happening again.”
The III Marine Expeditionary Force, a U.S. Marine Corps combat force headquartered in Okinawa, said it was cooperating with Japanese authorities in response to “allegations of serious criminal actions by a Marine.”
“The Marine Corps takes these allegations very seriously and expects every Marine to adhere to the highest standards of behavior,” he posted on X. “The Marine is in the custody of local authorities while investigations continue.”
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass said he had spoken with the Japanese Foreign Ministry and Okinawa Governor Genta Koja, “pledged to cooperate fully as the investigation continues.”
There are 18,000 U.S. Marines based in Japan, with the majority of them stationed in Okinawa, just 60 miles from Taiwan, its closest point. The United States occupied the island from the end of World War II until 1972, and the presence of the U.S. military often sparked resentment among locals.
In 1995, the kidnapping and rape of a 12-year-old girl by three U.S. service members sparked massive protests, as tens of thousands took to the streets, forcing Washington and Tokyo to discuss ways to reduce the U.S. military presence on the island.
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