Japan and the United States will hold consultations on effective measures to prevent similar incidents following the death of a Japanese woman in Okinawa. This was agreed by Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a telephone conversation, Anadolu Agency reports.
According to Japan’s Foreign Ministry, Motegi reiterated the Japanese government’s position, including expressing regret over the incident. The US State Department said that Rubio expressed sincere condolences over the death of a Japanese citizen in Okinawa and assured that the United States was ready to fully cooperate with the Japanese government and local authorities during the investigation.
Marine’s arrest
On Sunday, 20-year-old US Marine Corps lance corporal Devin Jacob Ballard was detained in Okinawa. He is suspected of murdering and robbing 39-year-old Anna Yagi at a hotel in Naha, the administrative center of Okinawa Prefecture.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Ballard serves with the III Marine Expeditionary Force at Futenma Air Base. He denies guilt and was handed over to prosecutors after his detention.
Protests and demands to revise the agreement
The case sparked protests in Okinawa and Tokyo, where calls were again made to revise the Agreement on the Status of United States Armed Forces in Japan. This document regulates the status of US military personnel stationed in the country.
On Friday, the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly adopted a resolution calling for a fundamental revision of the agreement and demanding that the US military take measures to prevent such cases from recurring. The prefecture hosts approximately half of the 50,000 US military personnel in Japan. Tokyo also summoned the US ambassador and the commander of US forces in Okinawa to express its protest.
Read us on
Download our app
AloJapan.com