5.10.2026
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday called on the United States to disciplines its soldiers after a Marine killed a woman in the Island of Okinawa.
Takaichi said the “heinous crime,” was one too many committed by US troops in the country, as the crime sparked a public outrage over violence involving American soldiers.
Crimes including rapes, assaults, hit-and-run and drunk-driving incidents by U.S. personnel have long sparked protests on the island, which bears a disproportionate burden of hosting about 70% of U.S. military facilities in Japan.
On Saturday a 20-year-old U.S. Marine stationed at Futenma Air Station in Okinawa, was arrested on suspicion of killing 39-year-old Anna Yagi at a hotel in the island’s capital city of Naha early Saturday and stealing her wallet and backpack. He has denied the allegations, according to Japanese media.
Public broadcaster NHK and other Japanese media outlets, citing investigation sources, reported that CCTV footage from near the scene showed a foreign man entering a room with a woman and later leaving with her belongings.
A patrolling police officer then found a 20-year-old man, later identified as Ballard, who matched the description of the suspect seen in the footage in an entertainment district in Okinawa City, about 15 miles northeast of Naha. The officer asked him to accompany them voluntarily to a local police station, where he was arrested, NHK reported.
Takaichi told lawmakers the government has lodged a strong protest with the United States, urging its “full cooperation with the investigation” and “strict discipline among U.S. military personnel.”
“The occurrence of such a heinous crime is extremely regrettable,” Takaichi said. With Agency reports
Takaichi...warns US to rein in its soldiers.