- Published
For many Okinawa locals, the arrest of a US soldier accused of robbing and killing a woman in a hotel room has reignited decades of frustration over crimes involving US military personnel there.
asserted
arrest → publish → personnel
"Honestly my first reaction was, 'Not again,'" 52-year-old longtime Okinawa resident Ai Sato told the BBC.
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Sato → tell → BBC
"Nothing has changed since I was a child.
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I → change → ?
How many times are we going to repeat the same thing, create more victims, cause their families to suffer, and ultimately, cause the people of Okinawa to grieve?"
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people → go → Okinawa
Akemi Oshiro, a 62-year-old Ginowan resident shared similar sentiments.
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Oshiro → share → sentiments
"I know we shouldn't get used to terrible things like this, but because they keep happening, I've stopped being surprised," she told the BBC.
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she → know → this
Okinawa hosts the largest US military presence in Japan.
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Okinawa → host → Japan
US Marine Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, was arrested by Japanese police on Sunday.
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Ballard → arrest → Sunday
Police say an investigation is underway and that Ballard is in Japanese custody because the alleged crime was unrelated to official military duties.
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crime → say → duties
Whether a US service member is acting in the performance of official duty, external or not can determine which country has primary jurisdiction.
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country → act → jurisdiction
When Japan has jurisdiction, but the suspect is under US custody, they can retain custody until Japan brings charges.
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Japan → have → charges
Ballard was assigned to III Marine Expeditionary Force and stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan City.
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Ballard → assign → City
The Okinawa prefectural police say 39-year-old Anna Yagi was found dead early 3 October in a hotel room in Naha.
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Yagi → say → Naha
Security footage allegedly shows a man believed to be the suspect entering the hotel with the woman and leaving alone with her belongings.
uncertain
man → show → belongings
Local media citing police have reported that Yagi appeared to have been strangled with a cord.
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Yagi → cite → cord
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi registered an official protest with Washington.
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Takaichi → register → Washington
But residents like Sato feel that's far from enough.
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that → feel → enough
"I am deeply disappointed by the same kinds of government comments we have been hearing for decades -- that they will protest or that they take the matter seriously.
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they → disappoint → matter
"
"I want Prime Minister Takaichi to call President Trump directly, someone with whom she has been emphasizing as having a close relationship with, and discuss concrete measures to prevent this from happening yet again," she said.
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she → want → this
Following news of the suspected murder, people in Japan have been voicing anger with some 100 people protesting in both Naha and Tokyo.
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people → follow → Naha
Others took to social media expressing their outrage and demanding justice with one user saying: "Enough is enough."
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Enough → take → justice
Over the past few years, a number of accidents and crimes have led to growing local opposition to the US presence on the island.
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number → lead → island
The 2016 rape and murder of a 20-year-old local woman saw tens of thousands of protesters demonstrate against the heavy US presence there.
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thousands → see → presence
A former US marine subsequently received a life sentence for the crime.
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marine → receive → crime
The US currently has about 55,000 military personnel stationed in Japan, with the heaviest concentration based on the tropical island prefecture.
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concentration → have → prefecture
Okinawa is one of the country's smallest prefectures by size, but 70% of the land used exclusively by the US military in Japan is located there.
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% → use → Japan
In 1972, Okinawa prefecture was returned to Japanese control after United States forces occupied the islands at the end of the Second World War.
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forces → return → War
Locals say the significant US presence has stirred resentment over a number of issues from crimes including rapes, assaults, and drunk-driving accidents to local disturbances such as noise and aircraft crashes.
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presence → say → noise
In 1995, three US servicemen abducted, beat, and raped a 12-year-old schoolgirl as she walked home from a stationery store.
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she → abduct → store
In 2025, a US Marine was convicted of choking and sexually assaulting a Japanese woman.
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Marine → convict → woman
"Even 80 yeas after the war, Okinawa where we live is a place that is so unnerving," 48-year-old mother of two boys Hitomi Miyagi told the BBC.
"We will not stop raising our voices hoping for an Okinawa, where we can live in peace."
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we → live → peace
The Aporia
