Japanese authorities have arrested a U.S. Marine stationed in Okinawa on suspicion of killing and robbing a 39-year-old woman at a hotel, prompting Tokyo to issue a formal protest to Washington.
Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is accused of killing Anna Yagi at a hotel in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture’s capital, early Saturday and stealing her wallet and backpack, according to police.
Police said Ballard has rejected the allegations.
This aerial image shows landfill work underway to prepare a site for the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in the Henoko district of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, on January 15, 2019. (Richard Atrero de Guzman/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The Marine Corps said Ballard serves with the III Marine Expeditionary Force and is based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa.
According to Stars and Stripes, citing Okinawa police, security video showed Yagi entering the hotel with Ballard. He was later seen leaving by himself, and a hotel employee discovered Yagi unresponsive after she did not check out.
Authorities later found Ballard in Okinawa City and took him into custody, the outlet reported.
News Media has contacted the Okinawa Prefectural Police seeking further details.
A U.S. Marines patch is displayed on a uniform at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar on September 26, 2025, in San Diego, California. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
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The Marine Corps said it was working with Japanese investigators and confirmed that Ballard remained in Japanese custody.
“The Marine Corps takes these allegations very seriously and expects every Marine to adhere to the highest standards of behavior,” the service said in a statement obtained by Reuters.
The arrest drew an immediate response from Japan’s senior leadership. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expressed sympathy for Yagi’s relatives and said Japan had delivered a “strong protest” to the United States.
“The occurrence of such an extremely brutal and heinous incident is a matter of profound regret,” Takaichi said in an English translation of her statement, which was originally issued in Japanese.
This photograph, taken on August 23, 2022, shows a person viewing the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from Kakazutakadai Park in Ginowan, Okinawa prefecture. (PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images)
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi separately summoned U.S. Ambassador George Glass. He called on the United States to fully assist the investigation, strengthen discipline among American military personnel and take steps to prevent similar cases.
Glass conveyed regret over the woman’s death and promised that the United States would cooperate with Japanese authorities.
The investigation unfolds amid decades of friction over the substantial U.S. military presence on Okinawa.
Most of the approximately 18,000 U.S. Marines serving in Japan are stationed on Okinawa. Local opposition has periodically intensified over crimes involving American service members, aircraft accidents and ongoing noise from military facilities.
Okinawa is also central to the U.S.-Japan alliance because of its strategic position in the western Pacific, close to Taiwan, as concerns grow over China’s military activity in the region.