A 20-year-old U.S. Marine stationed in Okinawa has been arrested by Japanese authorities on suspicion of robbing and murdering a 39-year-old woman inside a hotel in Naha, triggering a formal protest from the Japanese government.
Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, was taken into custody early Sunday in connection with the death of Anna Yagi, 39, a resident of Naha.
According to Stars and Stripes, Okinawa Prefectural Police allege that Ballard killed Yagi at the Naminoue Crystal Hotel in Naha’s Wakasa district sometime between approximately 2:10 a.m. and 4:17 a.m. Saturday. Police also accuse him of stealing her wallet and another personal item.
Police say surveillance footage showed Yagi entering the hotel with a man before the man later left alone carrying her belongings.
When Yagi failed to leave by checkout time, a hotel employee entered the room and discovered her unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities later located Ballard walking alone in an entertainment district and detained him before formally arresting him on suspicion of robbery and murder. Ballard has denied the allegations.
The precise cause and circumstances of Yagi’s death have not yet been publicly disclosed, and investigators are still working to determine the relationship, if any, between Yagi and Ballard.
The allegations have immediately escalated into a diplomatic headache for Washington.
Japan’s Vice Foreign Minister Takehiro Funakoshi lodged a “strong protest” with U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass on Sunday, pressing the United States to fully cooperate with the investigation, strengthen discipline among American military personnel, and take measures aimed at preventing another such incident, Japan Times reported.
Glass reportedly pledged U.S. cooperation and separately contacted Okinawa Governor Genta Koja to offer condolences to Yagi’s family. The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo also said American officials were working with the Japanese government and local authorities.
The Marine Corps confirmed that Ballard remains in Japanese custody while the investigation proceeds.
Marine spokesman 1st Lt. Tyler Thomas told Stars and Stripes that the Corps is “actively cooperating with Japanese authorities” regarding allegations of serious criminal conduct involving a Marine assigned to III Marine Expeditionary Force.
Another Marine Corps statement said the service takes the allegations seriously, expects Marines to meet the highest standards of conduct, and offered condolences to Yagi’s family and friends.
Ballard is entitled to the presumption of innocence. He has denied the charges. Japanese police say they are still determining the cause of death and the relationship between the two.
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