Some 100 people demonstrated in Naha and Tokyo earlier this month
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Japan’s government had registered a “strong” protest with the US over the case involving the alleged killing of Anna Yagi by a US Marine in Naha, Okinawa. Takaichi called for “strict disciplinary action against US military personnel and thorough measures to prevent a recurrence of such incidents.”
The reaction included some 100 people protesting in both Naha and Tokyo earlier this month. Others took to social media to express outrage and demand justice, with one user writing, “Enough is enough.” Takaichi described the crime as “brutal and heinous.”
Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, a US Marine stationed at US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, was arrested on suspicion of killing Anna Yagi, 39, at a hotel in Naha, the capital of Okinawa. Japanese prosecutors have since indicted him on suspicion of murder and robbery, according to BBC News, which cited Japanese media reports drawing on an indictment document.
The indictment alleges that on 3 October Ballard strangled Yagi with a telephone cord and then stole her backpack and wallet, according to the Japanese media accounts cited by BBC News.
BBC News also reported that Ballard had denied the allegations. In contrast, Asahi Shimbun and Kyodo News cited investigators saying he had made some statements suggesting involvement.
Security footage allegedly shows a man believed to be the suspect entering the hotel with Yagi and leaving alone with her belongings, BBC News reported.
Earlier this month, 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 Yagi’s family.
Okinawa Governor Genta Koja said the prefecture had repeatedly demanded that the US take action to prevent such incidents. He said he viewed the alleged crime as a sign of a lack of discipline.
The case is the latest involving a US serviceman in Okinawa, which hosts the highest concentration of around 55,000 US soldiers stationed in Japan. Previous criminal cases have sparked anger and protests there; the largest of those protests took place in 1995, when tens of thousands took to the streets following the abduction, beating and rape of a 12-year-old girl.
In 2024 alone, four sexual assault cases involving US troops occurred in Okinawa. One involved Air Force member Brennon Washington, who was given five years for the rape and kidnapping of an underage girl. In 2025, US Marine Lance Cpl Jamel Clayton was sentenced to seven years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman.