US Marine Arrested in Murder of Woman in Okinawa Hotel

A US Marine has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman's body was found in a hotel in Okinawa, Japan, local officials say.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi described the crime as a "brutal and heinous" robbery and murder, urging the US to impose stricter discipline on its personnel.

Japan’s public broadcaster NHK identified the victim as Yagi Anna, 39, and the suspect as Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, stationed at US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.

The Marine Corps said on social media that it was cooperating with Japanese authorities, extending condolences to the victim’s family.

Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the body was discovered early Saturday morning in a hotel in Naha City, the capital of Okinawa prefecture.

"Such an incident is utterly inexcusable and fills me with strong indignation," Koizumi wrote on social media, adding that incidents involving US military personnel cause significant anxiety to the local community and must never occur.

The US Embassy in Tokyo said it was fully cooperating with the Japanese government and local police. Japan’s foreign ministry summoned US ambassador George Glass to discuss the incident.

Okinawa is home to several US military bases and tens of thousands of American troops.

Okinawa Governor Genta Koja said the prefecture has repeatedly demanded that the US take action to prevent such incidents, calling the alleged crime a sign of a lack of discipline.

"The fact that this kind of event has happened again leaves us no choice but to conclude that the US military’s efforts in maintaining discipline, education of personnel, and other measures are completely ineffective," he said.