Takaichi mentions Okinawa murder in parliament speech as U.S. military weighs response

A U.S. Marine’s arrest over the alleged murder of a woman in Okinawa last weekend took on a national focus Monday, when Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi mentioned the incident in opening remarks of a key policy speech before parliament. 

Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, who is stationed at U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, is suspected of killing the 39-year-old woman at a Naha hotel and stealing her backpack and wallet. 

In an apparent symbol of the importance Takaichi has placed on the incident, she touched on the “heinous crime” at the beginning of her speech setting out the government’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.

Takaichi’s remarks largely reiterated those she made a day earlier.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass has expressed his condolences for the loss of life and pledged “full cooperation” with the investigation.

“I am speaking with U.S. military commanders this week about how we continue to hold our American servicemembers to the very highest levels of discipline and integrity,” Glass wrote Monday on X. 

The ambassador said he had already spoken with Lt. Gen. Benjamin Watson, the commander of the U.S. Marines’ III Marine Expeditionary Force, with the two discussing “our next steps in strengthening that bond of trust with our Japanese partners and base-hosting communities.”

Residents have long bristled at the U.S. base presence, and both Japan and the U.S. military were considering options to tamp down outrage over the incident and reassure the prefecture of their commitment to residents’ safety.

Sources familiar with the bilateral relationship said that the U.S. side was weighing a period of mourning, among other measures that include restrictions on service members’ off-base activities, the cancellation of on-base events, as well as restrictions on the sale of alcohol.

A spokesman for the III Marine Expeditionary Force, 1st Lt. Tyler Thomas, on Monday declined to confirm details about any mourning period or other measures.

U.S. Forces Japan spokesman Col. John Severns also said USFJ had nothing to announce.

“Japan-U.S. ties, the alliance remains strong,” Severns said. “We are cooperating fully with the Japanese authorities to achieve a just outcome.”

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivers a policy speech during an extraordinary session of parliament at the Lower House on Monday. | Bloomberg

Ballard has denied knowledge of the incident, according to authorities. However, a man resembling him was spotted entering the Naha hotel with the woman, who was found dead later Saturday morning. Ballard was arrested as he walked alone on a street in Naha’s entertainment district late Saturday.

Takaichi and other officials have described the killing as “exceptionally brutal and heinous.” 

The victim had been strangled, with a cord-like object found wrapped around her neck, NHK reported, citing investigative sources.

The incident has become one of the first tests for new Okinawa Gov. Genta Koja, who was elected last month with the backing of Takaichi’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party. 

Koja told reporters Monday that he would travel to Tokyo later this week to deliver a direct protest during a meeting with Takaichi. He is also expected to meet with Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi.

The governor on Monday summoned Masahiko Kiya, the ambassador in charge of Okinawa affairs at the Foreign Ministry, and Masaru Murai, director-general of the Okinawa Defense Bureau, to the prefectural office to formally lodge a protest.

“This is an extremely heinous incident that has caused great anxiety among the prefectural residents and citizens. I feel intense anger,” he said. 

“To ensure that such an incident never happens again, I strongly urge the Japanese and U.S. governments to take responsibility and implement effective, fundamental measures — including a review of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement.”

The Okinawa governor on Sunday criticized the U.S. military’s efforts to maintain discipline and educate its personnel as “completely ineffective.”

Around 200 people gathered in Naha on Sunday for a protest over the incident, local media reported.

The prefecture, home to the U.S. military’s sprawling Kadena Air Base and a number of other key facilities, is seen as a crucial linchpin for the U.S.-Japan alliance in deterring Chinese military assertiveness in the region.