Okinawa governor demands discipline for US military

The governor of the southern Japanese island of Okinawa yesterday demanded that the central government do more to ensure effective discipline among US service members following the arrest of a US Marine on accusations that he robbed and murdered a local woman.

Okinawa Governor Genta Koja, in Tokyo for the first time since taking office last month, met with Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi to express outrage over the killing and ask for further efforts to reduce the burden of hosting US military bases on the island.

People in Okinawa have long opposed the heavy US military presence on the island and complained about noise, pollution and crime related to US bases, although some have come to see its strategic value due to what is widely viewed as a growing threat from China.

Okinawa Governor Genta Koja speaks to reporters after meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo yesterday.

Photo: Reuters

Lance Corporal Jacob Ballard, a 20-year-old Ohio native belonging to the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of strangling Anna Yagi, 39, at a hotel and stealing her wallet and backpack. He has denied the allegations, according to Japanese media.

“Okinawa has requested preventive measures every time similar crimes were repeated in past, and now we have this case again,” Koja told Koizumi as they met in the minister’s office packed with reporters and cameras clicking.

“I must say past disciplinary measures and human rights education implemented by the US military have not worked at all,” Koja said.

A demonstrator holds a sign at a protest in front of the US embassy in Tokyo on Tuesday against the killing of a woman in Okinawa allegedly committed by a US Marine.

Photo: AFP

Koizumi said that he was aware of Okinawa’s concerns and that his government would cooperate with the US to discuss effective preventive measures.

In a later meeting, Koja told Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi: “The robbery-murder this time hugely shocked local residents, and there is an urgent need to reduce base-related burdens.”

Hours earlier, the US military in Okinawa announced a 48-hour pause of all military operations for training through noon tomorrow, as well as restricting the ability of troops to leave their base and prohibiting consumption of alcohol.

Lieutenant General Benjamin Watson, commander of III Marine Expeditionary Force, wrote in a letter posted on Tuesday on X that episodes like these “demand we pause for reflection” and that serving on the Japanese island “comes with responsibility.”

US troops on Okinawa are to be under a curfew from midnight to 5am for 30 days following the two-day training period, Watson said.