Okinawa’s governor Genta Kona called on Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Wednesday for help with ‘reducing the burden’ of hosting US bases, days after a US Marine was alleged to have murdered and robbed a local woman.
Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is suspected of killing Anna Yagi, 39, in a hotel in Naha, the capital of the southernmost prefecture, on Saturday and taking her wallet and backpack. Ballard denied the allegations, police said.
“The recent robbery-murder case in particular has caused great shock and anxiety among the people of Okinawa, underscoring the urgent need to reduce the burden associated with the bases,” Kona told Takaichi during a meeting in Tokyo, just after handing her a letter of appeal.
Japan hosts the world’s largest overseas contingent of US forces. Most of the 18,000 Japan-based Marines are stationed in Okinawa, which the US held from the end of World War Two until 1972.
That presence has repeatedly stirred resentment among residents over issues such as noise, aircraft crashes, and the conduct of personnel.