Japan Indicts U.S. Marine on Robbery-Murder Charge in Okinawa Hotel Killing
Japanese prosecutors on Sunday indicted a U.S. Marine on a charge of robbery causing death in the killing of a 39-year-old woman at a hotel in Naha, the capital of Okinawa.
Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is accused of killing Anna Yagi in the early hours of Oct. 3, according to a copy of the indictment provided to Stars and Stripes by Naha prosecutors.
Prosecutors allege Ballard wrapped a telephone handset cord around Yagi’s neck “with intent to kill,” strangled her and stole her backpack, which held her wallet and other belongings.
Ballard, who is stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, has denied the allegations, according to Okinawa Prefectural Police. If convicted, he faces the death penalty or life imprisonment under Japan’s penal code.
“We recognize the seriousness of the charges and will continue to cooperate fully with Japanese authorities in their ongoing investigation as the legal process moves forward,” III Marine Expeditionary Force spokesman 1st Lt. Tyler Thomas said.
Investigative sources said Yagi checked into the hotel with a man around 2:10 a.m. When she did not leave, a hotel employee entered the room around 4:15 a.m. and found her body, Jiji Press reported.
Security camera footage showed a man resembling Ballard, with tattoos on both arms, leaving the hotel carrying a backpack. The backpack was later found near the hotel, and police arrested Ballard on a street in Okinawa City.
Curfew and Calls for Change
The case set off protests in Okinawa and Tokyo and drew condemnation from Japanese political leaders, Reuters reported. It has fueled long-running unease over the large U.S. troop presence near Taiwan and China.
Lt. Gen. Benjamin Watson, the III MEF commander, ordered a midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew for all U.S. service members on Okinawa through Nov. 8 as part of a 30-day “Period of Reflection.”
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called the curfew “insufficient” during a parliamentary committee meeting this month. She said Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi had made “very strong requests” to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rubio expressed condolences in a call with Motegi and said the United States was determined “to communicate and fully cooperate” with the investigation, according to a State Department readout.
Gov. Genta Koja and the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly have called for a review of the status of forces agreement governing U.S. military personnel in Japan. The assembly also wants an apology and compensation for Yagi’s family.
Restrictions have spread beyond the Marines. Junior airmen at Kadena Air Base are barred from drinking alcohol, and U.S. troops in the Keen Sword exercise, which runs through Oct. 29, face an alcohol ban.
The biennial Keen Sword drills involve about 56,000 U.S. and Japanese personnel. Earlier this month, the Okinawa Navy Ball marking the Navy’s 251st birthday was postponed to support the period of reflection.
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