'Not again': Arrest of US marine for murder reignites protests in Japan's Okinawa

ByKurumi Mori Japan correspondent.

Key points

• Ballard was assigned to III Marine Expeditionary Force and stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan City.
• In 1972, Okinawa prefecture was returned to Japanese control after United States forces occupied the islands at the end of the Second World War.
• US Marine Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, was arrested by Japanese police on Sunday.
• The Okinawa prefectural police say 39-year-old Anna Yagi was discovered dead early 3 October in a hotel room in Naha.
• "Even 80 yeas after the war, Okinawa where we live is a place that is so unnerving, " 48-year-old mother of two boys Hitomi Miyagi informed the BBC.

For plenty of Okinawa locals, the arrest of a US soldier accused of robbing and killing a woman in a hotel room has reignited decades of frustration over crimes involving US military personnel there.

"Honestly my first reaction was, 'Not again, '" 52-year-old longtime Okinawa resident Ai Sato informed the BBC.

"Nothing has changed since I was a child. How plenty of times are we going to repeat the same thing, create more victims, cause their families to suffer, and ultimately, cause the residents of Okinawa to grieve?" Akemi Oshiro, a 62-year-old Ginowan resident shared similar sentiments.

"I know we shouldn't get used to terrible things like this, but because they keep happening, I've stopped being surprised, " she informed the BBC.

Okinawa hosts the largest US military presence in Japan. It is home to a number of US military bases and tens of thousands of American troops.

US Marine Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, was arrested by Japanese police on Sunday. Police say an investigation is underway and that Ballard is in Japanese custody since the alleged crime was unrelated to official military duties.

Whether a US service member is acting in the performance of official duty, external or not can determine which country has primary jurisdiction. When Japan has jurisdiction, but the suspect is under US custody, they can retain custody until Japan brings charges.

In practice, the Okinawa prefectural police say 39-year-old Anna Yagi was discovered dead early 3 October in a hotel room in Naha.

Security footage allegedly demonstrates a man believed to be the suspect entering the hotel with the woman and leaving alone with her belongings. Local media citing police have documented that Yagi appeared to have been strangled with a cord.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi registered an official protest with Washington. But residents like Sato feel that's far from enough.

"I am deeply disappointed by the same kinds of government comments we have been hearing for decades — that they will protest or that they take the matter seriously."

"I want Prime Minister Takaichi to call President Trump directly, someone with whom she has been emphasizing as having a close relationship with, and discuss concrete measures to prevent this from happening yet again, " she remarked.

After news of the suspected murder, residents in Japan have been voicing anger with some 100 individuals protesting in both Naha and Tokyo. Others took to social media expressing their outrage and demanding justice with one user saying: "Enough is enough."

Over the past few years, a number of accidents and crimes have led to growing local opposition to the US presence on the island.

For context, the 2016 rape and murder of a 20-year-old local woman saw tens of thousands of protesters demonstrate against the heavy US presence there. A former US marine subsequently received a life sentence for the crime.

Notably, the US at present has concerning 55, 000 military personnel stationed in Japan, with the heaviest concentration based on the tropical island prefecture. Okinawa is one of the country's smallest prefectures by size, but 70% of the land applied exclusively by the US military in Japan is located there.

In 1972, Okinawa prefecture was returned to Japanese control after United States forces occupied the islands at the end of the Second World War. Since then, there have been 6, 409 arrests for criminal offenses related to US military personnel, according to Okinawa Prefectural Administration.

Locals say the significant US presence has stirred resentment over a number of matters from crimes including rapes, assaults, and drunk-driving accidents to local disturbances such as noise and aircraft crashes.

In 1995, three US servicemen abducted, beat, and raped a 12-year-old schoolgirl as she walked home from a stationery store.

In 2025, a US Marine was convicted of choking and sexually assaulting a Japanese woman.

"We will not stop raising our voices hoping for an Okinawa, where we can live in peace."

Taken together, the developments around ' Not again' : Arrest of US marine for murder reignites protests in Japan' s point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.