Marine Charged in Okinawa Hotel Killing, Prompting Protests in Japan
Prosecutors in Naha indicted Devin Jacob Ballard on charges of strangling a 39-year-old woman with a phone cord and taking her belongings.
By Yasmin Kovalenko ·
Japanese prosecutors have indicted a US Marine in the killing of a woman inside a Naha hotel, a case that has drawn protests and a formal complaint from Japan's government to the United States. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is charged with murder and robbery.
The indictment filed in Okinawa states that Ballard strangled Anna Yagi, 39, with a telephone cord on 3 October and then took her backpack and wallet. Ballard was stationed at US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and was arrested in connection with Yagi's death at the hotel in Naha, the capital of Okinawa.
Ballard had denied the allegations. Investigators told Asahi Shimbun and Kyodo News that he has made some statements suggesting involvement. Security camera footage shows a man believed to be the suspect entering the hotel with the woman and leaving alone with her belongings.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called the crime "brutal and heinous." Her government registered a "strong" protest with the United States and requested "strict disciplinary action against US military personnel and thorough measures to prevent a recurrence of such incidents." Okinawa Governor Genta Koja said the prefecture has repeatedly asked the US to act to prevent such incidents and said he views the alleged crime as evidence of a lack of discipline.
The Marine Corps said it was "actively cooperating with Japanese authorities, in response to allegations of serious criminal actions by a Marine" and extended condolences to the victim's family.
About 100 people protested in Naha and another 100 in Tokyo earlier this month. Okinawa hosts the highest concentration of the roughly 55,000 US soldiers stationed in Japan. In 2024, four sexual assault cases involving US troops were reported in Okinawa. In 2025, Marine Lance Cpl Jamel Clayton received a seven-year sentence for sexually assaulting a woman.
In 1995, tens of thousands marched after the abduction, beating and rape of a 12-year-old girl by US servicemen, the largest protest of its kind in Okinawa.
Source: BBC News
