Japanese police arrested US Marine Devin Ballard for the murder of 39-year-old Okinawa resident Anna Yagi on October 4.
A hotel worker discovered Yagi’s dead body with a phone cord wrapped around her neck. Surveillance footage shows Ballard and Yagi entering the hotel together; shortly afterward, Ballard can be seen leaving alone, wearing Yagi’s backpack.
Okinawa police allege Ballard murdered her and then stole her backpack and wallet.
Following the announcement, more than 200 people demonstrated across Okinawa and 180 protested outside the US embassy in Tokyo, demanding an end to impunity and occupation of US forces.
Lt. Gen. Benjamin Watson, commander of III Marine Expeditionary Force, said the incident should cause soldiers to “pause for reflection” and instituted a two-day ban on alcohol consumption.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called the crime “heinous”. Under Takaichi, Japan has pursued a policy of greater collusion with US imperialism and increasing military spending.
After World War 2, US imperialism occupied Okinawa, transforming it into a military outpost to attack the national liberation struggles of Korea and Vietnam.
Today, about 70% of total land area occupied by the US military in Japan is in Okinawa, according to Japan’s Ministry of Defense.
Protests against the US occupation in Okinawa began in 1955 in response to a US soldier raping and murdering a five-year-old girl. Uprisings in response to continuous crimes by US troops forced the US to formally cede Okinawa back to Japan in 1972, though the US military presence remained mostly unchanged.
Since the return of the island, US soldiers have been involved in over 6,400 criminal cases, according to the Okinawa Prefecture.
In 1995, three soldiers abducted and raped a 12-year-old girl. Okinawans held massive demonstrations, calling for the US to withdraw from the island. In 2016, tens of thousands protested after a soldier raped and killed a 20-year-old woman. In 2025, a US marine choked and raped a local woman. According to local police, that year 101 criminal cases related to US forces in Okinawa.
According to Japanese monopoly outlet Ryukyu Newspaper, “most U.S. military-related offenses are processed without the culprits facing any criminal liability,” with only a 3% indictment rate of rape cases between 2007-2016.
Since the 1960 US-Japan Status of Forces Agreement, the US has primary jurisdiction for crimes US soldiers commit while on official duty. The US military has unilateral power in determining which cases count as being on official duty, and can keep custody of any suspect until formal indictment.
Image: Japanese protest against a US Marine Corp base in Okinawa in 2009. Credit: Nathan Keirn, retrieved from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0).
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