Dozens of protesters lined up in front of the Foreign Ministry on Thursday after a U.S. Marine was accused of killing a woman in Okinawa Prefecture, with many holding signs decrying crimes by U.S. service members.
The case is the latest in a string of incidents stretching back years that have fueled unease over the large U.S. troop presence on the island chain near Taiwan and China, with U.S. officials warning it could undermine ties vital to security in East Asia.
Public reaction to Anna Yagi’s killing, however, has been muted compared with the mass demonstrations that followed the rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan girl by three U.S. servicemen in 1995.
Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is suspected of killing Yagi, 39, in a hotel in Naha last weekend and taking her wallet and backpack. Ballard denied the allegations, police said.
Leaders of Thursday’s protest spoke over loudspeakers about abuses by U.S. service members and called on the government to respond, with others in the crowd rattling noisemakers in assent.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has called the killing “extremely brutal and heinous,“ and Tokyo said it had strongly protested to the U.S. and demanded measures to prevent a repeat of such incidents.
Japan hosts the largest overseas contingent of U.S. forces globally. Most of the 18,000 Japan-based marines are stationed in Okinawa, which the U.S. held from the end of World War II until 1972.
That presence has repeatedly stirred resentment among residents over issues such as noise, aircraft crashes and the conduct of personnel.
The U.S. on Wednesday began a 48-hour pause of military operations and a ban on alcohol while troops undergo training on standards and discipline. Service members have also been given a monthlong curfew for a “period of reflection.”
