Another crime in Okinawa, Japan has put both, the Japanese and US governments in limbo once again.  This time, a US Marine allegedly murdered, then robbed a 39 year-old woman from Okinawa has been placed under arrest. According to an NBC News report,

“Lance Cpl. 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, ​local police told the Reuters news agency. Ballard denied the allegations, police said.” 

The marine who is stationed at Futenma Air Station in Okinawa island was arrested at 1 a.m. and according to reports, the US government is cooperating with local authorities and Japanese government officials. 

However, it seems that its the same old song and dance as the Japanese Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi declared,

“The occurrence of such an extremely brutal and heinous incident is a matter of profound regret, and as the Government of Japan, we have lodged a strong protest with the U.S. side.” 

The Japanese Defense Ministry said that it was “deeply outraged by the extremely brutal and heinous crime committed by a U.S. Marine.” According to NBC news,

“The III Marine Expeditionary Force, a combat force of the U.S. Marine Corps headquartered in Okinawa, said it was cooperating with Japanese authorities in response to “allegations of serious criminal actions by a Marine” and that “The Marine Corps takes these allegations very seriously and expects every Marine to adhere to the highest standards of behavior,” it posted on X. “The Marine is in custody of local authorities while investigations proceed.”

But it is known fact that the US Military usually does not enforce its “code of military justice” although they have cooperated in the past where US troops who were actually convicted of serious crimes, but in most cases, they don’t. In fact, crimes of this nature has been going on for decades. I recently wrote an article on the issue, ‘Sex Crimes and Murder: US Military Bases in Okinawa is a Nightmare for Local Residents’ and said the following:

Since 1945, US military bases in Japan and especially their colony, Okinawa has experienced over 371 cases of sexual crimes by US troops and employees including murder according to The Asahi Shimbun, an online Japanese newspaper reported that “The Okinawa Times “killed” its regular TV listings page to print a full-page chronological table of sex crimes committed by American troops in Okinawa since 1945”continued, “There were 371 cases in all, and I believe the paper managed to fit them all on one page by using only small print”

The Japan Times also reported on the reaction of Japanese Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi who reiterated her government’s stance during a speech concerning her nation’s priorities for the fall session of parliament: 

“The Japanese government has lodged a strong protest with the U.S. side and has strongly demanded full cooperation with the investigation, as well as strict disciplinary action against U.S. military personnel and thorough measures to prevent a recurrence of such incidents,” she said in her address. “The government will continue to take all necessary measures to ensure a thorough response to this matter,” she added.

Now protests have started once again putting Prime Minister Takaichi at odds with other Japanese politicians and has to take a pragmatic approach with all sides as the Japanese military is currently working more closely with Washington since they both claim that China’s growing power is a threat. A report by the Associated Press (AP) said that

“The arrest of a U.S. Marine on suspicion of robbing and killing a local woman on Okinawa has renewed protests against the heavy American military presence on the southern island as Japan’s leaders condemned the crime.” 

The crime committed by Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard has created a difficult situation,

“The killing could complicate Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s push to strengthen Japanese military on the island and to work more closely with the U.S. military to deter China in the region.”

Will Japan finally tell Washington that they need to shut down all US military bases in Japan and Okinawa? Not anytime soon. However, as more people and politicians speak out, and mass protests continue, sooner or later Japan would have no choice but to evict all US forces from its territories. Permanently evicting all US military bases would at least solve two major problems for Japan, the first being that both the Japanese and Okinawan people would be much more safer without US troops lurking in their communities. The second problem that would be solved is that at least Okinawa would not be targeted by the Chinese or Russian militaries if the US would start another war in the pacific. 

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What Okinawa has been enduring for decades is shameful. Japan needs to shut down all US military bases in their country, because if they don’t, crimes committed by US troops especially those who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other mental illnesses will continue and the locals would eventually pay the ultimate price.     

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Timothy Alexander Guzman writes on his own blog site, Silent Crow News, where this article was originally published.

He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).

Featured image is from the author

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