A U.S. Marine stationed in Japan has been arrested on suspicion of robbing and killing a 39-year-old woman at a hotel in Okinawa, prompting Japanese officials to lodge a formal protest with the United States.
Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is suspected of killing Anna Yagi at a hotel in Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture, early Saturday and taking her wallet and backpack, according to Japanese police.
Ballard has denied the allegations, police said.
Ballard is assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Force and based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, according to the Marine Corps.
Surveillance footage showed Yagi entering the hotel with Ballard before he later left alone, U.S. military presence in Okinawa.
Most of the roughly 18,000 Marines stationed in Japan are based on Okinawa, where crimes involving U.S. personnel, aircraft accidents and noise have periodically fueled local opposition to the American military presence.
Okinawa remains strategically important to the U.S.-Japan alliance because of its location in the western Pacific near Taiwan amid increased concern over China's military activity in the region.
Reuters contributed to this report.