US Marine Seen After Alleged Killing of Woman While Serving in Japan

A US Marine accused of killing a woman while stationed on the Japanese island of Okinawa has been identified in photographs.

Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is based at Futenma Air Station and was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of strangling 39-year-old Anna Yagi in a hotel before taking her wallet and backpack.

Yagi was discovered in the hotel room in Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture, after staff became concerned that she had not checked out by the scheduled time.

A hotel employee unlocked the door to investigate and found Yagi unconscious inside.

Emergency responders were called at about 4.20am, but Yagi was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators believe the woman died sometime between 2am and 4am.

Police said security footage appears to show Ballard leaving the hotel with Yagi’s belongings. Her wallet and backpack were later recovered in the surrounding area, according to authorities.

Later that night, an officer searching Naha’s entertainment district located Ballard. Police said his shaved head and tattoos matched the appearance of the man seen in the security footage.

Ballard has denied the allegations.

Japanese prosecutors are examining the evidence as they decide whether to bring formal charges, CBS News reports.

A conviction could result in a life sentence or the death penalty.

The case has triggered alarm among residents and politicians. Japan has also lodged a formal protest with the United States, a diplomatic action used to express strong opposition to a policy, conduct or alleged violation of international law.

Okinawa Governor Genta Koja told reporters that the killing had intensified the fear felt by residents who have long lived alongside US military bases.

“It is absolutely unforgivable and we are outraged,” the governor said.

Koja also criticized America’s response to previous criminal cases, saying: “I must say, discipline and troop education are not working at all.”

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi also spoke out after the woman was found dead.  

‘The occurrence of the heinous crime is extremely regrettable,’ she posted on X. 

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Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi also summoned George Glass, the US Ambassador to Japan, to his office amid the ‘outrage.’ 

Glass took to X, sharing condolences with the victim’s family. He said the US is cooperating with the Japanese nation and local governments in the case. 

Around 500,000 US troops are deployed in Japan, and half of them are stationed in Okinawa – which had been under US occupation from World War II until 1972.

But in recent years, locals have grown irate over the increasing number of crimes linked to the US military presence on the island – including the heinous gang rape of a 12-year-old girl in 1995.

The number of US military-related criminal cases rose to 101 last year from about 40 in 2020, according to prefectural police.

Many now argue that the 1960 Japan Status of Forces Agreement left US military bases in the country virtually immune to Japan’s domestic laws.

Under the agreement, Japanese authorities are hard-pressed to conduct an on-site probe into alleged environmental pollution inside the bases and regulate low-altitude flights.

Among the most contentious of the issues is Japan’s lack of primary jurisdiction over crimes committed by US military personnel while on duty. 

Even when crimes are committed off-duty, as long as the individual responsible remains on base, their custody won’t be handed over to Japan until they are indicted, according to the Japan Federation of Bar Associations.

Amid the outrage, the US military announced on Tuesday it will halt normal operations and ban alcohol at its bases on Okinawa for a 48-hour-long period beginning at noon on Wednesday and ending at noon on Friday.

During that period, service members will participate in ‘discussions on liberty policy, enforcement mechanisms, alcohol awareness, Okinawan culture and alliance responsibilities,’ said Lt Gen Benjamin Watson, III Marine Expeditionary Force Commander.

Alcohol consumption will also be prohibited on and off US military installations for 30 days, during which the military will institute ‘enhanced supervision at the gates across all installations on Okinawa.’

Military leaders will use that time to ‘conduct a more deliberate review of our liberty policies and procedures and make recommendations to the Okinawa Area Coordinating Committee,’ Watson wrote in a memo obtained by Stars and Stripes.

‘Liberty is a mission, and like any other mission it requires discipline, trust and teamwork to complete it successfully,’ he wrote before urging service members to ‘live up to the high standards that come with the uniform you wear.’

Ballard had enlisted on August 8, 2024 and completed recruit training at Parris Island, South Carolina. He then went on to attend the School of Infantry – East at Camp Geiger in North Carolina and the Marine Corps Engineer School at Camp Lejeune before being assigned to Okinawa.

He was promoted to lance corporal on October 1, 2025.

Ballard’s awards include the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, a Letter of Appreciation and a Meritorious Mast.

His current duty status is listed as ‘confined foreign civil authority/IHFA,’ an abbreviation for ‘in hands of foreign authorities,’ according to Stars and Stripes.