US Marine indicted on robbery-murder charges in Japan's Okinawa

A U.S. Marine stationed in Japan was indicted on robbery-murder charges on Sunday over the alleged killing of a local woman at a hotel in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Kyodo News reported.

According to the indictment, Devin Ballard strangled the woman with a telephone cord at a hotel in Naha on Oct. 3 and stole her backpack. Okinawa prefectural police arrested him on Oct. 4.

The case has sparked public anger in Okinawa, where crimes involving U.S. military personnel stationed in Japan have long been a source of concern. Such offenses have included rapes, murders and robberies.

According to a previous report by Japanese newspaper Shimbun Akahata, citing National Police Agency data, Japanese police dealt with 4,998 criminal cases involving U.S. military personnel and their family members from 1989 through May 2026. Of these, 2,447 occurred in Okinawa Prefecture, accounting for nearly half of the total.

Xinhua

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