Demonstrators marched on the US Embassy demanding American troops leave Japan following the arrest of a Marine in Okinawa<\/p>\n
Outrage over the alleged killing of a woman by a US Marine in Okinawa has erupted in Tokyo, where protesters marched on the US Embassy demanding an end to the American military presence in Japan.
\nThe demonstrations follow the arrest of Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, suspected of strangling Anna Yagi, 39, at a hotel on the island on Saturday and stealing her belongings. Ballard has denied the allegations.
\nOkinawa is home to several major US military installations and tens of thousands of American service members.
\nFootage from Tuesday\u2019s rally shows demonstrators carrying placards demanding justice for Yagi and calling for US forces to leave Japan, before marching outside the embassy under a heavy police presence.<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither the US military nor the embassy has offered a proper apology. It is only natural to be angry about this,\u201d one protester said.
\nAnother demonstrator said resentment over crimes involving US personnel had accumulated over decades and accused the authorities of ignoring repeated demands to remove American bases.
\n\u201cIt is truly infuriating that the presence of these bases leads to women being killed or raped like this. I cannot forgive it,\u201d the protester said.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Japanese PM condemns alleged killing of woman by US Marine<\/p>\n
Tokyo has lodged a formal protest with Washington over the case. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has described the alleged killing as a \u201cheinous crime\u201d and demanded full US cooperation with the investigation, tighter discipline among American personnel, and measures to prevent similar incidents. Washington has expressed regret over Yagi\u2019s death and pledged to cooperate with the Japanese authorities.
\nThe case has reignited a decades-old dispute over the concentration of US military facilities in Okinawa. The prefecture accounts for just 0.6% of Japan\u2019s territory but hosts around 70% of the land exclusively used by US forces in the country.
\nCrimes involving American personnel have repeatedly fueled opposition to the bases. In 1995, the abduction and rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan girl by three US servicemen triggered mass protests. In 2016, former Marine and US base worker Kenneth Franklin Gadson raped and murdered 20-year-old Rina Shimabukuro and was later sentenced to life imprisonment.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: US Marine arrested over killing of woman in Okinawa<\/p>\n
Further sexual assault allegations involving US personnel have emerged in recent years despite measures introduced by the US military to tighten discipline, including increased patrols and restrictions on off-base drinking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Demonstrators marched on the US Embassy demanding American troops leave Japan following the arrest of a Marine in Okinawa Outrage over the alleged killing of a woman by a US…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39504,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t