U.S. MV-22 Osprey transport plane are parked on the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, on the principle island of the Okinawa archipelago, southern Japan, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025.
Hiro Komae/AP
cover caption
Hiro Komae/AP
TOKYO — Japanese police arrested a U.S. Marine within the alleged theft and homicide of a girl on Okinawa, officers stated Sunday, the newest prison case on the southern island the place the heavy American troop presence has remained a delicate problem.
The Okinawa prefectural police stated they arrested a 20-year-old Marine stationed on the Futenma Air Station on suspicion of killing a 39-year-old native girl at a lodge in Naha, Okinawa’s capital metropolis, and taking her pockets and backpack within the early hours of Saturday.
Kyodo Information company, citing the police, reported the lady’s physique was present in her lodge room and she or he appeared to have been strangled to demise.
Police stated safety digicam footage confirmed the person believed to be the suspect coming into the lodge with the sufferer and popping out alone. An officer arrested the suspect after recognizing him strolling alone on a road in Naha’s leisure district late Saturday, Kyodo stated.
“The case offers a serious shock and provides concern to the Okinawans who’ve already been compelled to dwell subsequent to U.S. bases,” newly elected Okinawa Gov. Genta Koja informed reporters. “It’s completely unforgivable and we’re outraged.”
“I need to say, self-discipline and troop training will not be working in any respect,” stated Koja, referring to the U.S. army’s measures taken in response to previous prison circumstances.
Some 50,000 U.S. troops are deployed in Japan below a bilateral safety pact, about half of them on Okinawa, whose strategic position is seen as more and more necessary for the Japan-U.S. army alliance amid rising tensions with China. Japan’s southwestern shift in its army focus facilities closely on Okinawa and its close by islands.
Okinawans have lengthy complained about noise, air pollution and crime associated to U.S. bases, with crimes involving U.S. service members on Okinawa complicating ties between Japan’s central authorities and the Okinawa administration. The most recent case comes as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s cupboard pushes to additional fortify its Japanese army presence on Okinawa and work extra carefully with the U.S. army.
“The incidence of the heinous crime is extraordinarily regrettable,” Takaichi stated in her message on X. She stated her authorities has strongly protested to the U.S. facet and demanded most cooperation with the Japanese authorities within the investigation, in addition to more durable self-discipline for U.S. service members and preventive measures.
International Minister Toshimitsu Motegi summoned U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass to his workplace and conveyed “outrage,” the ministry stated in a press release.
Glass, on X, expressed condolences to the sufferer’s household, including that the USA is cooperating with the Japanese nationwide and native governments.
The U.S. Marine Corps stated in a press release the suspect is assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Power on Okinawa and that it’s totally cooperating with Japanese authorities. “The Marine Corps takes these allegations very significantly and expects each Marine to stick to the best requirements of habits.”
Futenma base, situated in a densely populated space in central Okinawa, has been a sore spot for a lot of Okinawans for many years, who demanded its relocation. Regardless of protests, the central authorities greenlit development to relocate the bottom to Henoko on Okinawa’s jap coast, although the challenge has confronted huge delays.
A high-profile 1995 rape of a 12-year-old lady by three U.S. service members sparked huge protests in opposition to the heavy U.S. troop presence on Okinawa. The variety of arrests associated to U.S. service members and their households exceeded 100 final 12 months, in keeping with prefectural police. Repeated incidence of sexual crimes and a few of their delayed disclosures have additionally sparked outrage on Okinawa in recent times.
