A US Marine has been indicted on suspicion of murdering and robbing a woman in Japan earlier this month in a case that has triggered protests, Japanese media reports.
Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, who was 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.
Prosecutors have now indicted him for allegedly strangling Yagi with a telephone cord and then stealing her backpack and wallet on 3 October, media reports, citing the indictment document.
It wasreported Ballard had denied the allegations, but Asahi Shimbun and Kyodo News cited investigators saying he has made some statements suggesting involvement.
Security footage allegedly shows a man believed to be the suspect entering the hotel with the woman and leaving alone with her belongings.
Yagi’s death has caused outrage in Japan, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi describing the crime as “brutal and heinous”.
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 the victim’s family.
It is the latest case 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, the largest of which 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, there were four sexual assault cases involving US troops in Okinawa, including that of 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.
Okinawa Governor Genta Koja said the prefecture has repeatedly demanded that the US take action to prevent such incidents, and said he sees the alleged crime as a sign of a lack of discipline.
The prime minister said her government has registered a “strong” protest with the US and called for “strict disciplinary action against US military personnel and thorough measures to prevent a recurrence of such incidents”.
People in Japan have been voicing anger, with some 100 people protesting in both Naha and Tokyo earlier this month. Others took to social media expressing their outrage and demanding justice, with one user saying: “Enough is enough.”
