TOKYO: US soldiers stationed on Japan’s Okinawa have been given a month-long curfew and banned from drinking alcohol while they undergo discipline training after a Marine was alleged to have murdered and robbed a local woman.
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 (Oct 3) and taking her wallet and backpack. Ballard denied the allegations, police said.
The case is the latest in a string of incidents stretching back years that have fuelled unease over the large US troop presence on the island chain near Taiwan and China, with US officials warning it could undermine ties vital to security in East Asia.
“Every interaction with our neighbours either builds or undermines the trust that is essential to our team. When that trust is damaged, it affects the strength of our alliance and the security of this region,” Lt Gen Benjamin Watson said in a statement on Tuesday ordering the measures.
All US military operations on Okinawa will be paused for 48 hours while troops undergo training on standards and discipline, Watson added.
“BRUTAL AND HEINOUS”
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called Saturday’s killing “extremely brutal and heinous”. She said she had strongly protested to the United States and demanded measures to prevent such incidents in the future.
Yagi died of asphyxiation after Ballard allegedly “pressed on her neck,” police told the Stars and Stripes newspaper.
