U.S. Marine arrested, accused of killing Japanese woman in Okinawa

A U.S. Marine stationed successful Japan's confederate land of Okinawa was arrested pursuing the decease of a Japanese woman, section constabulary said connected Sunday. Japan lodged a beardown protestation with the U.S. and demanded maximum practice with the investigation.

Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, who is stationed astatine Futenma Air Station, is suspected of sidesplitting Anna Yagi, 39, successful a edifice successful Naha, the superior of the southernmost prefecture, connected Saturday and taking her wallet and backpack, Okinawa prefectural constabulary said. Ballard denied the allegations, constabulary said.

Public broadcaster NHK and different Japanese media outlets, citing probe sources, reported that CCTV footage from adjacent the country showed a overseas antheral entering a country with a pistillate and aboriginal leaving with her belongings.

Ballard was arrested erstwhile a patrolling serviceman saw him walking aboriginal Saturday successful an amusement territory successful Okinawa City, astir 15 miles northeast of Naha. His shaved caput and limb tattoos matched those of the antheral successful information footage, Kyodo News Agency reported.

"The lawsuit deals a large daze and adds fearfulness to the Okinawans who person already been forced to unrecorded adjacent to U.S. bases," recently elected Okinawa Gov. Genta Koja told reporters, the Associated Press reported. "It is perfectly unforgivable and we are outraged."

"We person mislaid a household subordinate and are profoundly saddened. My parents, successful particular, are utterly devastated astatine the nonaccomplishment of their daughter," the woman's member said done section police, according to the Asahi Shimbun regular newspaper.

The U.S. Embassy successful Tokyo said it was alert that a U.S. work subordinate was successful constabulary custody pursuing the decease of a Japanese nationalist successful Okinawa and that they are "communicating and cooperating" with Japanese authorities amid the investigation.

"We widen our sincere condolences to the victim's family," the embassy said connected social media.

George Glass, the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, said connected social media that helium has spoken with Japan's overseas ministry and Okinawa's governor, offering "our sincere condolences and pledging afloat practice arsenic the probe continues."

On Monday, Glass said helium is telling U.S. subject commanders of the request "to clasp our American work members to the precise highest levels of subject and integrity." Glass said helium and Lt. Gen. Benjamin Watson, commandant of III Marine Expeditionary Force, discussed the "next steps successful strengthening that enslaved of spot with our Japanese partners and base-hosting communities."

The latest lawsuit comes arsenic Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Cabinet pushes to further fortify its Japanese subject beingness connected Okinawa and enactment much intimately with the U.S. military.

Takaichi said Japan had lodged a protest with U.S. authorities and called the transgression "exceptionally brutal and vicious."

"The occurrence of the heinous transgression is highly regrettable," Takaichi said successful her connection connected social media.

She said Tokyo has urged the U.S. to "provide maximum practice with the investigation, enforce stricter subject among U.S. subject personnel, and instrumentality thorough measures to forestall the recurrence of akin crimes."

The U.S. Marine Corps said it is afloat cooperating with Japanese authorities.

"The Marine Corps takes these allegations precise earnestly and expects each Marine to adhere to the highest standards of behavior," the connection said.

The U.S. has astir 54,000 subject unit stationed successful Japan, mostly connected Okinawa, which the U.S. held from the extremity of World War II until 1972.

Crimes, including rapes, assaults and drunk-driving accidents committed by U.S. unit person been a thorn successful relations betwixt the adjacent information allies. The fig of arrests related to U.S. work members and their families exceeded 100 past year, according to prefectural police.

"Incidents and accidents involving U.S. subject unit origin large anxiousness among the section assemblage and indispensable not beryllium allowed to happen," Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said.

Last year, a Japanese tribunal sentenced a U.S. Marine accused of choking and attempting to rape a pistillate successful her 20s to 7 years successful prison.

In 2017, a erstwhile U.S. Marine and civilian subject basal idiosyncratic was sentenced to beingness successful situation for the rape and execution of a section pistillate successful Okinawa.

The aforesaid year, U.S. Forces Japan banned each unit from consuming intoxicant aft an intoxicated U.S. Marine crashed his conveyance into a mini-truck, sidesplitting its 61-year-old section driver.

In:

• United States Marine Corps
• Murder
• Japan
• Crime