Japan called in the U.S. ambassador Sunday to protest the arrest of an American Marine suspected of robbing and killing a woman in Okinawa.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi delivered the protest to Ambassador George Glass at the Foreign Ministry. He described Saturday’s death in Naha as “extremely brutal and heinous” and asked Washington to cooperate fully with investigators, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
Motegi also pressed U.S. authorities to tighten discipline among military personnel and take steps to prevent another such incident.
Police identified the Marine as Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, who is stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. He is accused of killing Anna Yagi, 39, at a Naha hotel and taking her wallet and backpack, according to Reuters. Ballard denied the allegations, police said.
Yagi’s body was found around 4:30 a.m. local time Saturday. Officers arrested Ballard about 1 a.m. Sunday as he walked through Naha, CNN reported, citing police.
Investigators said security footage showed a man believed to be a foreign national entering the hotel room with Yagi. The man was later seen leaving alone with her belongings.
Glass expressed deep regret over the loss of life. He promised full cooperation with Japanese authorities and said the United States would do everything it could to prevent similar cases, the ministry reported.
The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo acknowledged that a service member was in custody following the death of a Japanese national in Okinawa.
“We extend our sincere condolences to the victim’s family,”
U.S. officials are communicating and cooperating with the Japanese government and local authorities while the investigation continues, the embassy said. A separate Japanese-language post carried the same message.
The Marine Corps said Ballard belongs to the III Marine Expeditionary Force and remains in Japanese custody. It said the allegations were being taken seriously.
On Sunday, the prime minister of Japan, Sanae Takaichi, also presented a protest note to the United States. Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told public broadcaster NHK that the incident was unacceptable and that he was deeply outraged.
Most of the nearly 18,000 Marines in Japan are stationed in Okinawa. The United States controlled the islands from the end of the Second World War till 1972.
Over decades, there have been several cases of friction due to noise and aircraft accidents and crime involving Americans in Japan. The 1995 rape of a 12-year-old girl by three U.S. soldiers led to protests all over Okinawa.
The Japanese authorities continue the investigation.
