Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi registered a protest with the United States on Sunday after a US Marine was arrested on suspicion of robbing and murdering a Japanese woman in Okinawa.
Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is suspected of killing Anna Yagi, 39, in a hotel in Naha, the capital of the southernmost prefecture, on Saturday and taking her wallet and backpack, police said. Ballard denied the allegations, police said.
“The occurrence of such an extremely brutal and vicious incident is extremely regrettable,” Takaichi said in a statement.
“The government of Japan strongly protests to the US side and strongly seeks maximum cooperation with the investigation,” as well as the tightening of discipline and thorough measures to prevent a recurrence, she said.
At least the suspect is actually in Japanese custody. All too often in cases like this the Marine Corps flies them back to the US before host nation police can arrest them
Yep. Every country with a US military base has these kind of stories.
