Japanese Prime Minister Calls Curfew for U.S. Troops on Okinawa “Insufficient” in Response to Murder of a Japanese Woman
We know this is all political theater, but the Japanese politicians are all showing who is more outraged after the murder of a Japanese woman on Okinawa:
In this screenshot from security footage, a woman who appears to be Anna Yagi walks in front of the Tesio sausage shop in Okinawa city, Okinawa, Oct. 2, 2026. (Tesio)
Japan’s prime minister criticized the U.S. military response to a Marine’s arrest in an Okinawa homicide investigation Tuesday, calling a monthlong overnight curfew for American troops inadequate. Sanae Takaichi questioned whether the midnight-to-5 a.m. restriction would prevent further incidents after Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, was arrested Oct. 4 on suspicion of killing and robbing a Japanese woman at a Naha hotel.
She made the remarks during a House of Representatives budget committee meeting in reply to Okinawa lawmaker Masahisa Miyazaki, who challenged the effectiveness of the U.S. response. “I question how banning outings during the time people are asleep actually fosters reflection or leads to realistic measures to prevent a recurrence,” Miyazaki said, according to a livestream of the meeting on the assembly’s website. Takaichi said she considered the measure “insufficient” after reviewing it in her office.
You can read more at the link, but on top of the curfew the Okinawa politicians want action taken against the Marine’s supervisors:
The Okinawa Prefectural Assembly passed a resolution and statement Friday calling on the U.S. military and Japanese governments to apologize to Yagi’s family, provide compensation and revise the status of forces agreement governing U.S. military personnel in Japan. The documents also seek “disciplinary action against those with supervisory responsibility.”
This is a ridiculous request because I have seen plenty of great NCOs and officers have Soldiers screw up and do something criminal. Personnel sometimes do criminal things and they should be held accountable for it, not people that had nothing to do with it. Now if a unit shows a consistent trend of indiscipline then that unit’s leadership is held accountable by being relieved of duty which most times ends their careers. This is something I have seen happen before. Does this Marine’s unit have a long indiscipline problem? I don’t know, but I am sure the leadership in USFJ is closely looking at it and will take action if warranted.
With that all said, if the Okinawa politicians want to play this game, then who should be held accountable for all the murders on Okinawa not committed by U.S. military personnel? The last murder on Okinawa committed on Okinawa by a U.S. servicemember was a 2019 murder suicide. That means there two murders committed by a U.S. servicemember in 7 years.
According to ChatGPT there was 13 total murders on Okinawa in 2025 and the island typically averages about 15 a year. Presumably, the vast majority of these murders are committed by Japanese. The facts show that someone on Okinawa is far more likely to be murdered by a Japanese person than a U.S. servicemember. Because of this fact, is the Okinawa legislator going to demand that all these Japanese who are parents of a criminal be brought up on charges as well? Better yet maybe they should also go after the mangers of whatever business the criminal worked at?
