TOKYO, Oct 7 — US troops stationed on Japan's Okinawa have been placed under a month-long curfew and banned from drinking alcohol while undergoing discipline training after a Marine was accused of murdering and robbing a local woman.
Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is suspected of killing Anna Yagi, 39, at a hotel in Naha, the capital of Japan's southernmost prefecture, on Saturday before taking her wallet and backpack.
Ballard has denied the allegations, police said.
The case is the latest in a series of incidents spanning years that have fuelled unease over the large US troop presence on the island chain near Taiwan and China, with US officials warning that such incidents could undermine ties vital to security in East Asia.
"Every interaction with our neighbours either builds or undermines the trust that is essential to our team. When that trust is damaged, it affects the strength of our alliance and the security of this region," Lt Gen Benjamin Watson said in a statement on Tuesday announcing the measures.
All US military operations on Okinawa will also be suspended for 48 hours while troops undergo training on standards and discipline, Watson added.
'Brutal and heinous'
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi described Saturday's killing as "extremely brutal and heinous", saying she had strongly protested to the United States and demanded measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Yagi died of asphyxiation after Ballard allegedly "pressed on her neck", police told the Stars and Stripes newspaper.
Hotel staff found the woman unconscious in her room in the early hours of Saturday after she failed to check out.
Around 200 officers were involved in a search for the man who had earlier been captured on CCTV entering the hotel with the victim, local media reported.
Okinawa Governor Genta Koja is scheduled to meet Takaichi today to discuss the response to the crime, which has sparked protests in Naha and Tokyo.
Japan hosts the largest overseas contingent of US forces in the world. Most of the 18,000 Marines based in Japan are stationed in Okinawa, which was under US administration from the end of World War Two until 1972.
The military presence has repeatedly stirred resentment among residents over issues such as noise, aircraft crashes and the conduct of personnel.
The 1995 rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan girl by three US servicemen sparked mass demonstrations.
Saturday's killing could complicate Takaichi's efforts to relocate some Marines from the busy Futenma air base to a more remote facility at Henoko. Opponents want the troops moved out of the prefecture entirely.
Okinawa, which lies about 100 kilometres from Taiwan at its closest point, is viewed by Tokyo and Washington as strategically important in deterring potential military aggression from China.
