Okinawa governor protests to U.S. military over Marine's arrest in Naha killing
Version 3: New developments: the Marine was sent to prosecutors, Naha's mayor joined the governor in protesting to the top U.S. commander in Okinawa — who expressed condolences but did not apologise, a decision tied to the suspect's denial — and the prefecture set out in more detail why it wants the Status of Forces Agreement reviewed.
In short
A 39-year-old woman living in Naha was found dead at a hotel in the city early on October 3, and a U.S. Marine from Futenma base — named by TBS NEWS DIG and Mainichi Shimbun as 20-year-old Devin Ballard — was arrested on suspicion of robbery-murder and sent to prosecutors on October 5. Governor Genta Kosho, who says he will go to Tokyo within the week to protest to the government, and Naha Mayor Satoru Chinen protested to the top U.S. commander in Okinawa, Lt. Gen. Benjamin Watson, who expressed condolences but did not apologise, citing the Marine's denial of the charge. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara called the case “extremely regrettable.”
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A 39-year-old woman who lived in Naha was found dead at a hotel in the city in the early hours of October 3, and a U.S. Marine was arrested on suspicion of robbery-murder, according to reports by TBS NEWS DIG, Jiji Press and Mainichi Shimbun. The Marine is a 20-year-old private first class assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa; TBS NEWS DIG and Mainichi Shimbun named him as Devin Ballard. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 9 , 10 ]
Okinawa Governor Genta Kosho said on October 5 that he would go to Tokyo within the week to protest to the government, and was arranging meetings with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, Jiji Press reported. Nikkei reported that he summoned the Foreign Ministry's ambassador for Okinawa affairs and the head of the Okinawa Defense Bureau to the prefectural office and demanded effective, fundamental measures including a review of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a press conference the case was “extremely regrettable” and said Japan would keep pressing U.S. Forces Japan to tighten discipline and prevent a recurrence. [ 3 , 6 ]
Mainichi Shimbun reported that Kosho and Naha Mayor Satoru Chinen summoned the top U.S. commander in Okinawa, Lt. Gen. Benjamin Watson, the Okinawa area coordinator, to the prefectural office on October 5. Watson expressed condolences but did not apologise, the paper said, citing the Marine's denial of the charge; TBS NEWS DIG also reported that no words of apology came from the military side. Kosho called the case absolutely unforgivable. The governor and mayor noted that women in the prefecture were killed by U.S. military personnel in 2016 and 2019 and said discipline and human rights education at the U.S. military “have not functioned at all,” according to Mainichi. Watson said he took extremely seriously the concern and unease caused to Okinawa's community and promised cooperation with the investigation and guidance on service members' conduct. [ 9 , 10 ]
Mainichi reported that police sent the Marine to the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office on October 5. The paper said the Status of Forces Agreement gives Japan jurisdiction over off-duty crimes by U.S. personnel but allows the U.S. side to hold a suspect until indictment if it takes custody first, a long-standing concern for investigations; this time, prefectural police found the suspect outside the base and arrested him first, so the provision did not apply. Kosho said the case had not produced a problem on that point but could have under different circumstances, and that crimes by U.S. personnel may rest on a sense of being protected by the agreement. [ 10 ]
Why it matters
The case returns the conduct of U.S. forces in Okinawa and the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement to the political agenda: the governor is taking his protest to Tokyo and asking for a review of the agreement, and prefectural leaders say past discipline measures have not worked. The U.S. commander's condolences without an apology keep attention on how the U.S. military responds. None of the documents indicates any change to the agreement itself.
Key facts
- A 39-year-old woman who lived in Naha was found dead at a hotel in the city in the early hours of October 3, and a U.S. Marine was arrested on suspicion of robbery-murder. [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 9 , 10 ]
- The Marine is a 20-year-old private first class assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan; TBS NEWS DIG and Mainichi Shimbun named him as Devin Ballard. [ 2 , 4 , 10 ]
- Police sent the Marine to the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office on October 5. [ 9 , 10 ]
- Governor Genta Kosho said he would go to Tokyo within the week to protest to the government and is arranging meetings with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- Kosho and Naha Mayor Satoru Chinen summoned the top U.S. commander in Okinawa, Lt. Gen. Benjamin Watson, to the prefectural office; Watson expressed condolences but did not apologise, a decision Mainichi Shimbun tied to the Marine denying the charge. [ 9 , 10 ]
- Kosho called the case an unacceptable situation and said it was absolutely unforgivable. [ 3 , 9 ]
- The governor and mayor demanded effective, fundamental measures including a review of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement, and cited 2016 and 2019 cases in which women in the prefecture were killed by U.S. military personnel. [ 6 , 10 ]
- Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a press conference that the case was “extremely regrettable” and that Japan would keep pressing U.S. Forces Japan to tighten discipline and prevent a recurrence. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- A 39-year-old woman was found dead at a hotel in Naha, and a U.S. Marine was arrested on suspicion of robbery-murder. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 9 , 10 ]
- The Marine was assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 10 ]
- The suspect is 20 years old and was named as Devin Ballard by TBS NEWS DIG and Mainichi Shimbun. [ 2 , 4 , 10 ]
- Police sent the Marine to the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office on October 5. [ 9 , 10 ]
- The top U.S. commander in Okinawa expressed condolences over the case but did not apologise. [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]
- Governor Genta Kosho said he would travel to Tokyo within the week to protest to the government over the case. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- The governor and Naha's mayor protested to the U.S. military and demanded measures including a review of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement. [ 6 , 9 , 10 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the Marine admits or denies the charge. Mainichi Shimbun says he denies it and that this was behind the commander's decision not to apologise; no other document describes his account.
- The circumstances of the woman's death and the state of the investigation. Documents say only that her body was found at a hotel in Naha and give no cause of death or further investigative detail.
- Whether Governor Kosho's meetings with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi will take place. Jiji Press reported he is arranging them; no document confirms a date or that they were agreed.
- Whether Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi summoned the U.S. ambassador and whether Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi separately called the case “extremely regrettable.” These appear only as related-headline text on a Yahoo! News Japan page and are not reported by any other document.
- The identity and rank of the top U.S. commander in Okinawa, Lt. Gen. Benjamin Watson, described as Okinawa area coordinator. Named only by Mainichi Shimbun; TBS NEWS DIG and a Yahoo! News Japan headline refer to the top U.S. commander in Okinawa without a name.
- The summoning of the Foreign Ministry's Okinawa ambassador and the Okinawa Defense Bureau head, and the governor's full remarks at the prefectural office. Reported only by Nikkei, whose article is partly behind a paywall.
- Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said the case was “extremely regrettable” and that Japan would keep working to ensure discipline and prevention of recurrence by U.S. Forces Japan. Reported by a single source so far
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- October 3, early morning: a 39-year-old woman living in Naha is found dead at a hotel in the city; a U.S. Marine is later arrested on suspicion of robbery-murder. [ 1 , 5 , 10 ]
- October 4: TBS NEWS DIG reports the Okinawa governor's intention to protest directly to the U.S. military and to the Japanese and U.S. governments. [ 1 ]
- October 5: TBS NEWS DIG reports the governor will soon go to Tokyo to protest to the prime minister and foreign minister, and names the suspect as 20-year-old Devin Ballard. [ 2 ]
- October 5: The governor tells reporters at the prefectural office he will go to Tokyo within the week; Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara separately calls the case “extremely regrettable.” [ 3 ]
- October 5: Nikkei reports the governor summoned the Foreign Ministry's Okinawa ambassador and the head of the Okinawa Defense Bureau and demanded a review of the Status of Forces Agreement. [ 6 ]
- October 5: A Yahoo! News Japan headline says the top U.S. commander in Okinawa did not apologise. [ 8 ]
- October 5: TBS NEWS DIG reports the U.S. commander expressed condolences but avoided an apology, and quotes the governor calling the case absolutely unforgivable. [ 9 ]
- October 5: Mainichi Shimbun reports the governor and the Naha mayor protested to Lt. Gen. Benjamin Watson, and that police sent the Marine to the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office. [ 10 ]