# US marine charged with killing Japanese woman in Okinawa

> Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is accused of strangling Anna Yagi, 39, and stealing from her at a hotel. He denies the charges.
- Title: US marine charged with killing Japanese woman in Okinawa
- Summary: Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is accused of strangling Anna Yagi, 39, and stealing from her at a hotel. He denies the charges. Japanese prosecutors charged US…
- Keywords: devin jacob ballard, anna yagi, okinawa, us marine, murder charge, japan, us military, news, world, marine, charged, killing
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/26/japanese-prosecuters-charge-marine-killing
- Published: 2026-10-26T13:41:41+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: devin jacob ballard, anna yagi, okinawa, us marine, murder charge, japan, us military, news, world
## Marine charged with murder and robbery
Japanese prosecutors have formally charged Devin Jacob Ballard, a twenty-year-old lance corporal at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, with fatally strangling Anna Yagi, thirty-nine, at a hotel and stealing her backpack.
## Arrest followed surveillance footage
Ballard was arrested on October fourth, about a day after Yagi was found dead in Naha, Okinawa's capital.Surveillance camera footage showed a man entering a room with a woman and later leaving with her belongings.
## Ballard denies involvement
When questioned by police, Ballard initially said, "I don't know anything about it." During subsequent questioning he was alleged to have made statements that partially hinted at his involvement, according to NHK.

> I don't know anything about it.
## Yagi's family grieves lost future
A statement reported to Yagi's family on Sunday said she lost her life at the young age of thirty-nine and wanted to live much, much longer.

> She lost her life at the young age of 39. She … wanted to live much, much longer.
## Pattern of US military crimes
The killing prompted protests in Okinawa and Tokyo and triggered a curfew and alcohol ban for US military members.
## Arrests at twenty-year high
About six thousand US military personnel have been arrested since the US returned Okinawa to Japan in nineteen seventy-two. There were eighty such arrests in twenty twenty-four, constituting a twenty-year high.
## Key takeaway

Japanese prosecutors charged US marine Devin Jacob Ballard with murdering and robbing a woman in Okinawa, reigniting concerns about crimes by American troops in Japan.