Japanese prosecutors have indicted a U.S. Marine on robbery and murder charges over the death of a woman in a hotel in Okinawa, according to NBC News, citing Japanese media. Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is accused of killing Anna Yagi, 39, at a hotel in Naha, the prefectural capital, and stealing her backpack. Ballard, stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, denies the allegations.
The indictment was filed Sunday. A court spokesman confirmed to AFP that "the case was indicted on October 25," ABC Australia reports. Prosecutors allege Ballard strangled Yagi with a telephone cord on October 3 and took a backpack holding her wallet, according to the Telegraph.
The case began with an arrest within hours. Police picked Ballard up late on October 3 after an officer spotted him alone on a street in the entertainment district of Okinawa City, WBTV carried a wire report at the time. Security footage showed a man believed to be the suspect entering the hotel with Yagi and leaving alone, and Kyodo News said her body was found in the room, apparently strangled.
Tokyo's reaction was immediate. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called the crime "extremely regrettable" and her government lodged a strong protest with Washington, demanding maximum cooperation, tougher discipline for U.S. service members and preventive measures. Okinawa Gov. Genta Koja called it "absolutely unforgivable." Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi summoned U.S. Ambassador George Glass to convey Japan's outrage, the report said.
The killing set off protests in Okinawa and Tokyo. The U.S. military responded with a two-day operational pause and then a month-long curfew and alcohol ban for personnel on the island, according to the Telegraph. Motegi said officials are "reviewing the off-base code of conduct for US troops," and ABC says high-level bilateral talks will take up off-duty conduct and the "liberty" policy covering private activities off base. That policy was already tightened in 2024 after a string of sexual assaults by U.S. personnel, and bans public drinking off base between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.
The III Marine Expeditionary Force said: "We recognise the seriousness of the charges and will continue to cooperate fully with Japanese authorities."
Okinawa is where most of the roughly 54,000 U.S. troops in Japan are based, and about 10% of the island's land is used exclusively by the U.S. military, the Telegraph notes. The island was under U.S. administration until 1972. The Telegraph lists a 2025 conviction of a Marine for choking and sexually assaulting a Japanese woman, and the 2016 rape and murder of Rina Shimabukuro by a base worker and former Marine, who got a life sentence, among earlier cases that fed opposition to the bases. NBC adds that the case fits a series of incidents over several years that have fueled unease about the U.S. presence on islands near Taiwan and China.
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