US Marine's arrest in a killing on Okinawa triggers outrage in Japan
[October 05, 2026]
By MARI YAMAGUCHI
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese police arrested a U.S. Marine accused of robbing
and killing a woman on Okinawa, officials said Sunday, in the latest
criminal case involving U.S. military personnel on the southern island
where the heavy American troop presence is a sensitive issue.
The Okinawa prefectural police said they arrested a 20-year-old Marine
stationed at the Futenma Air Station on suspicion of killing a
39-year-old local woman at a hotel in Naha, Okinawa's capital city, and
taking her wallet and backpack early Saturday.
Kyodo News agency, citing the police, reported the woman's body was
found in her hotel room and she appeared to have been strangled.
Police said security camera footage showed a man believed to be the
suspect entering the hotel with the woman and leaving alone. An officer
arrested the suspect after spotting him walking alone on a street in
Okinawa City's entertainment district late Saturday, Kyodo said.
“The case deals a major shock and adds fear to the Okinawans who have
already been forced to live next to U.S. bases,” newly elected Okinawa
Gov. Genta Koja told reporters. “It is absolutely unforgivable and we
are outraged.”
“I must say, discipline and troop education are not working at all,”
said Koja, referring to the U.S. military’s measures taken in response
to past criminal cases.
Some 50,000 U.S. troops are deployed in Japan under a bilateral security
pact, about half of them on Okinawa, whose strategic role is seen as
increasingly important for the Japan-U.S. military alliance amid growing
tensions with China. Japan's southwestern shift in its military focus
centers heavily on Okinawa and its nearby islands.
Okinawans have long complained about noise, pollution and crime related
to U.S. bases, with crimes involving U.S. service members on Okinawa
complicating ties between Japan’s central government and the Okinawa
administration. The latest case comes as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s
cabinet pushes to further fortify its Japanese military presence on
Okinawa and work more closely with the U.S. military.
“The occurrence of the heinous crime is extremely regrettable,” Takaichi
said in her message on X. She said her government has strongly protested
to the U.S. side and demanded maximum cooperation with the Japanese
authorities in the investigation, as well as tougher discipline for U.S.
service members and preventive measures.
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U.S. MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft are parked at the U.S.
Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, on the main island of
the Okinawa archipelago, southern Japan, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (AP
Photo/Hiro Komae, File)
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi summoned U.S. Ambassador to Japan
George Glass to his office and conveyed “outrage," the ministry said
in a statement.
Glass, on X, expressed condolences to the victim's family, adding
that the United States is cooperating with the Japanese national and
local governments.
The U.S. Marine Corps said in a statement the suspect is assigned to
the III Marine Expeditionary Force on Okinawa and that it is fully
cooperating with Japanese authorities. “The Marine Corps takes these
allegations very seriously and expects every Marine to adhere to the
highest standards of behavior."
Futenma base, located in a densely populated area in central
Okinawa, has been a sore spot for many Okinawans for decades, who
demanded its relocation. Despite protests, the central government
greenlit construction to relocate the base to Henoko on Okinawa’s
eastern coast, though the project has faced massive delays.
The rape of a 12-year-old girl by three U.S. service members in 1995
sparked massive protests against the heavy U.S. troop presence on
Okinawa. The number of arrests related to U.S. service members and
their families exceeded 100 last year, according to prefectural
police. Repeated occurrence of sexual crimes and some of their
delayed disclosures have also sparked outrage on Okinawa in recent
years.
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This story corrects the location where the suspect was spotted after
the alleged crime to Okinawa City, not Naha.
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