A U.S. Marine based in Japan has been taken into custody on suspicion of robbing and murdering a 39‑year‑old woman at a hotel in Okinawa, leading Japanese authorities to issue a formal protest to Washington.
Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is alleged to have murdered Anna Yagi at a hotel in Naha, Okinawa’s capital, early on Saturday, after which he allegedly stole her wallet and backpack, Japanese police reported.
Ballard has denied the accusations, according to police.
In this aerial image shows a landfill work preparing the area for the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Henoko district of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan on January 15, 2019.
(Richard Atrero de Guzman/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Ballard serves with the III Marine Expeditionary Force and is stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, the Marine Corps said.
Surveillance video captured Yagi entering the hotel with Ballard, after which he departed alone, according to Stars and Stripes citing Okinawa police. A hotel staff member later discovered Yagi unresponsive when she did not check out.
Police later located Ballard in Okinawa City and took him into custody, the outlet reported.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Okinawa Prefectural Police for additional information.
A U.S. Marines patch is shown on a uniform at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar on September 26, 2025, in San Diego, California. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
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.
This picture taken on August 23, 2022 shows a person looking out at the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from Kakazutakadai Park in Ginowan, Okinawa prefecture. (PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images)
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.
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.
