US Marine arrested over murder of Japanese woman

A US Marine stationed on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a 39-year-old Japanese woman, local police said on Sunday.

The suspect was arrested after the woman was allegedly killed at a hotel in Naha on Saturday, with police also accusing him of stealing her wallet.

A local police spokesman told AFP that the suspect was arrested after investigators linked him to the incident.

Japanese media, including NHK, reported that security camera footage showed a foreign man entering a hotel room with a woman and later leaving with her belongings.

Police subsequently identified a 20-year-old man who reportedly matched the description from the footage and asked him to accompany officers to a police station, where he was arrested.

The suspect has reportedly denied the allegations.

The incident has renewed concerns in Okinawa, which hosts a large concentration of US military facilities and personnel. Crimes and accidents involving US service members have previously triggered protests and strained relations between residents and the authorities.

US Ambassador George Glass said he had spoken with Japan’s foreign ministry and Okinawa’s governor, offering condolences and pledging full US cooperation with the investigation.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the government had lodged a protest with US authorities and described the alleged crime as “exceptionally brutal and vicious.”

She called on the US to provide maximum cooperation with investigators, strengthen discipline among its military personnel and take measures to prevent similar incidents.

Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi also expressed concern over the incident, saying crimes and accidents involving US military personnel cause anxiety among local residents.

The woman’s brother expressed the family’s grief through police.

“We have lost a family member and are deeply saddened. My parents, in particular, are utterly devastated at the loss of their daughter,” he said, according to the Asahi Shimbun.

The US has about 54,000 military personnel stationed in Japan, with most based in Okinawa. The island hosts about 70 per cent of US military facilities in Japan.

Previous cases involving US personnel have included sexual assault, drunk-driving incidents and other violent crimes.

In 2017, a former US Marine and civilian military base worker was sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of a woman in Okinawa.

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, about 6,000 US military personnel have been arrested since Okinawa was returned to Japan from US control in 1972. The number of arrests reached 80 in 2024, the highest figure in two decades.

The latest case is expected to further fuel debate over the presence of US military personnel on the island and the impact of crimes involving service members on local communities.