Tension between US troops stationed on Okinawa and the Japanese public has reached breaking point after a Marine was arrested on suspicion of the murder of a local woman. Stars and Stripes reported last week that Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard had been arrested on suspicion of killing and robbing 39-year-old local Anna Yagi at a hotel in the city of Naha.
Cops allege she died of asphyxiation after Ballard allegedly “pressed on her neck”. He denies the allegations. This is far from the first criminal incident involving the US military and Japanese civilians, with previous incidents causing mass protests from locals against the base.
