US Marine indicted over alleged murder of woman in Okinawa

TOKYO — Japanese prosecutors have indicted a U.S. Marine on suspicion of murdering and robbing a woman in Okinawa earlier this month, multiple Japanese media outlets have reported, in a case that has prompted renewed outrage over the conduct of U.S. troops in the country.

Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, a 20-year-old Marine assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Force at Futenma Air Station, is charged with killing a woman by strangling her with a phone cord at a hotel in Naha, Okinawa's capital, and stealing her backpack containing a wallet, public broadcaster NHK and others, reported on Sunday.

Anna Yagi, 39, was found unresponsive in her hotel room and pronounced dead at the scene on the morning of Oct. 3, Okinawa police previously told CNN, adding the cause of death was suffocation. Ballard was arrested less than 24 hours later while walking around the city, police said.

CNN is working to determine Ballard's legal representation. The prosecutors have not disclosed whether the suspect has admitted or denied the charges, according to NHK. Okinawa police previously told CNN Ballard denied the charges.

The Naha District Public Prosecutors Office declined to comment on the case to CNN on Monday.

A spokesperson for the III Marine Expeditionary Force told CNN the U.S. military recognizes "the seriousness of the charges and will continue to cooperate fully with Japanese authorities in their ongoing investigation as the legal process moves forward."

Yagi's family said in a statement they "hope the real culprit will face up to what he has done and make amends."

Yagi's "life was cut short at the young age of 39," they added.

Arrest sparks protests, backlash

The case against Ballard is the latest in a string of allegations against U.S. personnel in Okinawa, which has been the site of longstanding anger and protests over the American presence on the island chain. Okinawa hosts several U.S. military facilities and is home to about 30,000 U.S. troops and their families.

Ballard's arrest sparked local protests and condemnation from politicians and leaders in Japan, including Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who said her government "strongly protested" to the U.S. and called for "thorough discipline among U.S. military personnel, and comprehensive measures to prevent the recurrence of crimes and accidents."

Okinawa Governor Genta Koja said the alleged murder "leaves us no choice but to conclude that the U.S. military's efforts in maintaining discipline, educating personnel and other such measures are completely ineffective."

Following Ballard's arrest, U.S. troops on the island were placed under a monthlong curfew and were required to undertake training on "standards, discipline and our responsibilities as members of the Okinawan community."

Last year, U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Jamel Clayton, 22, was sentenced to seven years in prison after he was convicted of strangling and sexually assaulting a woman in Okinawa. In 2024, U.S. Air Force member Brennon R. E. Washington, 25, was sentenced to five years for kidnapping and raping an underage girl.

In 2016, tens of thousands of people demonstrated, calling for an end to the U.S. military presence on Okinawa following the killing of a local woman by a civilian worker stationed at the U.S. Kadena Air Base.

Contributing: Junko Ogura and Laura Sharman

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