TOKYO, 4 October, 2026 (Nosheen): Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has lodged a strong protest with the United States after a US Marine was arrested on suspicion of robbing and murdering a Japanese woman in Okinawa. Twenty-year-old Marine Devin Jacob Ballard is suspected of killing 39-year-old Anna Yagi at a hotel in Naha, the capital of Okinawa, on Saturday and taking her wallet and backpack, according to Japanese police. Ballard has denied the allegations. Prime Minister Takaichi described the incident as extremely regrettable and said Japan strongly protests to the US side, seeking maximum cooperation with the investigation, stricter discipline and comprehensive measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. The US Embassy and the US Marine Corps expressed condolences and said they were cooperating with Japanese authorities. The Marine Corps said Ballard, who is assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Force and based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, is in Japanese custody, adding that the allegations are being taken very seriously and that all Marines are expected to maintain the highest standards of conduct. Most of the approximately 18,000 US Marines stationed in Japan are based in Okinawa, whose large US military presence has repeatedly sparked resentment among local residents over noise, aircraft accidents and the conduct of military personnel. The 1995 rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan girl by three US servicemen triggered mass protests. The latest killing could further complicate plans to relocate some Marines from the crowded Futenma air base to a facility at Henoko, while opponents have called for US troops to be removed from Okinawa altogether. Located about 100 kilometers from Taiwan at its closest point, Okinawa is regarded by Tokyo and Washington as strategically important for deterring potential military aggression by China.