Japan police have arrested a U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, on suspicion of robbery and murder after Anna Yagi, 39 years, was found dead at a hotel in Naha City, Okinawa.
Yagi’s body was discovered in the early hours of Oct. 3 at a hotel in Naha’s Wakasa area, in Japan.
An employee entered the room where the deceased lodged, after the guest failed to leave after checkout time had passed and found her unresponsive.
According to the Okinawa Prefectural Police, officers were searching for a man who fled the scene and were treating the case as a robbery and murder. They allege that Ballard murdered Yagi and stole her wallet and other belongings, between 2 a.m. to about 4 a.m.
“Such an incident is utterly unacceptable and I feel strong indignation,” Defense Minister Koizumi said at an extraordinary press conference on Sunday.
Koizumi offered his deepest condolences to Yagi’s bereaved family and said Japan has lodged a strong protest with the U.S. side. He further demanded thorough training of personnel, strict discipline, thorough prevention of accidents, and appropriate support for the victim’s family.
In his words, incidents and accidents involving U.S. military personnel cause great anxiety to local residents of Okinawa and are unacceptable.
Japan officials continue to urge the U.S. side to thoroughly prevent further unprecedented incident at various opportunities, he further noted japan government will continue to cooperate with related ministries.
The United States side have responded, and said it was cooperating with Japanese authorities as investigators work to establish the facts.
The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo in th statement expressed it was aware a U.S. service member was in custody following the death of a Japanese national in Okinawa and extended sincere condolences to Yagi’s family.
“I spoke this morning with Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs MofaJapan_en and GentaKoja Okinawa Governor Koja, offering our sincere condolences and pledging full cooperation as the investigation continues,” U.S. Ambassador to Japan, George Glass, said in a statement.
The III Marine Expeditionary Force in X statement noted the department was actively cooperating with Japanese authorities over allegations involving a Marine assigned to the force and expressed condolences to the victim’s family and friends as well.
“As the government, we will address this case with the utmost care and diligence,” Prime Minister Takaichi said.
Takaichi said Okinawa Prefectural Police were continuing their investigation and described the incident as extremely brutal and heinous and a matter of profound regret.
She also pushed that the Japan government demanded maximum cooperation with the investigation, strict discipline among U.S. military personnel and thorough measures to prevent a recurrence.
