A U.S. Marine stationed in Japan has been arrested on suspicion of robbing and killing a 39-year-old woman at a hotel in Okinawa, prompting Japanese officials to lodge a formal protest with the United States.
Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is suspected of killing Anna Yagi at a hotel in Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture, early Saturday and taking her wallet and backpack, according to Japanese police.
Ballard has denied the allegations, police said.
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Ballard is assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Force and based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, according to the Marine Corps.
Surveillance footage showed Yagi entering the hotel with Ballard before he later left alone, Stars and Stripes reported, citing Okinawa police. A hotel employee later found Yagi unresponsive after she failed to check out.
Police subsequently located Ballard in Okinawa City and arrested him, according to the outlet.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Okinawa Prefectural Police for additional information.
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The Marine Corps said it was cooperating with Japanese authorities and 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 prompted swift condemnation from senior Japanese officials. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi offered condolences to Yagi's family and said her government had lodged a "strong protest" with 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 Japanese-language statement.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi also summoned U.S. Ambassador George Glass and called for full U.S. cooperation with the investigation, stricter discipline among American military personnel and measures to prevent similar incidents.
Glass expressed regret over the loss of life and pledged U.S. cooperation with Japanese authorities.
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The case comes against a decades-long backdrop of tensions surrounding the large U.S. military presence in Okinawa.
Most of the roughly 18,000 Marines stationed in Japan are based on Okinawa, where crimes involving U.S. personnel, aircraft accidents and noise have periodically fueled local opposition to the American military presence.
Okinawa remains strategically important to the U.S.-Japan alliance because of its location in the western Pacific near Taiwan amid increased concern over China's military activity in the region.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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