Murder arrest of US Marine in Okinawa hotel sparks protests across Japan
A US Marine has been arrested over the robbery and killing of a woman in a Naha hotel, reigniting long-running anger over US military crimes in Okinawa.
Okinawa residents react with despair as US Marine held over hotel murder
The arrest of a US Marine accused of robbing and killing a woman in an Okinawa hotel room has renewed decades of frustration among local residents over crimes linked to American military personnel, bbc.co.uk reports.
"Honestly my first reaction was, 'Not again,'" Ai Sato, a 52-year-old longtime Okinawa resident, told the BBC. "Nothing has changed since I was a child. How many times are we going to repeat the same thing, create more victims, cause their families to suffer, and ultimately, cause the people of Okinawa to grieve?"
Akemi Oshiro, a 62-year-old resident of Ginowan, echoed those sentiments. "I know we shouldn't get used to terrible things like this, but because they keep happening, I've stopped being surprised," she said.
Suspect in Japanese custody
US Marine Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, was arrested by Japanese police on Sunday. Ballard was assigned to III Marine Expeditionary Force and stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan City. Police say the alleged crime was unrelated to official military duties, placing it outside US jurisdiction — Ballard remains in Japanese custody pending charges.
Okinawa prefectural police say 39-year-old Anna Yagi was found dead in the early hours of 3 October in a hotel room in Naha. Security footage allegedly shows a man believed to be the suspect entering the hotel with the woman, then leaving alone with her belongings. Local media, citing police sources, report that Yagi appeared to have been strangled with a cord.
Official protest, local scepticism
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi filed an official protest with Washington following the suspected murder. But residents say the response falls short of what is needed.
"I am deeply disappointed by the same kinds of government comments we have been hearing for decades — that they will protest or that they take the matter seriously," Sato said. She called on Takaichi to contact President Trump directly, given the relationship the prime minister has publicly emphasised, and to pursue concrete preventive measures.
Protests followed in both Naha and Tokyo, with around 100 people demonstrating. Others expressed anger on social media, with one user writing: "Enough is enough."
A decades-long pattern
Okinawa hosts the largest US military presence in Japan, accounting for 70% of the land in the country exclusively used by American forces, despite being one of Japan's smallest prefectures by area. The US currently stations approximately 55,000 military personnel in Japan, with the heaviest concentration on the island.
Since Okinawa was returned to Japanese control in 1972, following US occupation at the end of the Second World War, there have been 6,409 arrests for criminal offences linked to US military personnel, according to the Okinawa Prefectural Government.
The island's history of such incidents stretches back decades. In 1995, three US servicemen abducted, beat, and raped a 12-year-old girl on her way home from a stationery store. In 2016, the rape and murder of a 20-year-old local woman drew tens of thousands of protesters; a former US Marine was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime. Earlier in 2025, a US Marine was convicted of choking and sexually assaulting a Japanese woman.
Locals say resentment has built not only over violent crime but also over noise, aircraft crashes, and drunk-driving incidents tied to the bases.
"Even 80 years after the war, Okinawa where we live is a place that is so unnerving," said Hitomi Miyagi, a 48-year-old mother of two. "We will not stop raising our voices hoping for an Okinawa where we can live in peace."
Source: Google News UK — Crime (en)