New Okinawa governor lodges formal protest, presses Japan on Marine training
The U.S. military in Okinawa imposed a monthlong curfew on service members and a three-day ban on alcohol after a Marine was arrested on suspicion of killing a 39-year-old Japanese woman in a Naha hotel room, according to a letter from the Third Marine Expeditionary Force. The measures were disclosed as Okinawa’s new governor, in his first week in office, lodged a formal protest over the alleged killing with U.S. officials and pressed Tokyo for answers about how a 20-year-old Marine was assigned to the island.
Lt. Gen. Benjamin Watson, who commands the Third Marine Expeditionary Force based on Okinawa, ordered the measures in a letter dated Tuesday that was posted to the unit’s account on X. The curfew requires all military personnel to return home by midnight and runs for a month. Watson also ordered all American military activity halted for two days while the force undergoes on-base training in “standards and discipline,” and prohibited alcohol consumption both on and off base from Wednesday through Friday.
“Serving in Okinawa comes with responsibility. We live, work and socialize alongside the people of Okinawa. Their home is our home,” Watson said in the letter. He added that U.S. forces will fully cooperate with the Japanese authorities in their investigations.
Okinawa police on Sunday arrested 20-year-old Marine Devin Jacob Ballard, accusing him of robbing and killing 39-year-old Anna Yagi in a hotel room in central Naha, Okinawa’s capital. Ballard has denied the allegations, according to police. He could not be reached for comment, and it was not clear whether he had legal representation.
The incident has revived tensions over the decades-long U.S. military presence on Okinawa, which hosts more than 30,000 American service members. Resentment over the U.S. presence has been a feature of Okinawan life and politics for decades, and sporadic incidents of violence involving U.S. personnel have repeatedly stoked local anger and shaped Okinawan politics. The curfew announcement came as small street protests broke out on Okinawa following news of the arrest and drew a diplomatic rebuke from Tokyo.
On Sunday, Koja pressed Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo for answers about Marine training and assignments to the island. The following Monday, Koja lodged a formal protest over the alleged killing with Watson and U.S. Consul General in Okinawa Andrew Ou.
“This case involves a 20-year-old Marine, quite a young person. I want to ask detailed questions about their initial training program and the management procedures in place for their assignments to Okinawa, and seek measures to prevent similar crimes,” Koja said after the meeting in Tokyo.
Koja’s election last month over a stalwart of the antiwar movement opposed to the U.S. presence on Okinawa was read as a sign that hostility to the U.S. presence on the island is fading as voters focus on pocketbook issues and Japan confronts new security challenges from China and Russia. Koja took office this week.