Japanese prosecutors have indicted a US Marine on charges of robbery and murder of a Japanese woman in Okinawa, the country's southernmost prefecture, Japanese media reported on Monday, October 26, Reuters reported. Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, is suspected of killing Anna Yagi, 39, in a hotel in Naha, the capital of the prefecture, earlier this month. Ballard has denied the allegations, Reuters said.

Source: Reuters, Oct 26

Public broadcaster NHK reported prosecutors indicted Ballard on Sunday, adding he allegedly strangled the victim with a telephone cord and stole a backpack containing a wallet, citing the Naha District Public Prosecutors' Office, Reuters reported. The prosecutors' office could not be reached for comment outside business hours. CNN, citing NHK and other outlets, reported the same indictment on Sunday and said Ballard, a 20-year-old Marine assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Force at Futenma Air Station, is charged with killing the woman by strangling her with a phone cord at a hotel in Naha and stealing her backpack containing a wallet.

Source: CNN, Oct 25-26

Oct 25Date prosecutors indicted Ballard, according to NHK via Reuters and CNN
Oct 3Date Anna Yagi, 39, was found unresponsive in her Naha hotel room and pronounced dead at the scene, Okinawa police told CNN
20 years oldAge of Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Force at Futenma Air Station

What police and the family have said

Okinawa police previously told CNN that Yagi was found unresponsive in her hotel room and pronounced dead at the scene on the morning of October 3, that the cause of death was suffocation, and that Ballard was arrested less than 24 hours later while walking around the city. CNN is working to determine Ballard's legal representation. The prosecutors have not disclosed whether the suspect has admitted or denied the charges, according to NHK; Okinawa police previously told CNN Ballard denied the charges. Yagi's family said in a statement they "hope the real culprit will face up to what he has done and make amends," and that Yagi's "life was cut short at the young age of 39." The charges are allegations to be tested in court; no finding of guilt has been reported.

Source: CNN, Oct 25-26

Protests, a curfew and a wider troop-presence debate

A spokesperson for the III Marine Expeditionary Force told CNN the US military recognizes "the seriousness of the charges and will continue to cooperate fully with Japanese authorities in their ongoing investigation as the legal process moves forward." The case sparked protests in Okinawa and the nation's capital Tokyo, drew condemnation from Japanese political leaders and prompted a curfew and alcohol ban for US soldiers stationed in Okinawa, Reuters reported. It 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, Reuters added.

Source: Reuters, Oct 26