Lieutenant General Benjamin Watson ordered a 48-hour operational pause and a midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew after police arrested a Marine over the death of a woman in Naha.
The US military in Okinawa will impose a curfew from midnight to 5 a.m. for a month starting Friday after the arrest of a Marine on suspicion of robbing and murdering a local woman, Kyodo News reported. Lieutenant General Benjamin Watson, Okinawa area coordinator of US Forces Japan, announced the measure on Tuesday.
All US military personnel on the island were also to observe a 48-hour operational pause from noon on Wednesday, with no off-base liberty and a ban on alcohol on or off base, the South China Morning Post reported from Watson's statement. "Incidents like this demand we pause for reflection," he said.
Local police arrested Devin Ballard, a 20-year-old Marine, on suspicion of robbing and murdering Anna Yagi, 39, at a hotel in Naha on Saturday, the South China Morning Post reported. The allegations have not been proven in court.
The Japan Times reported that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met Okinawa's governor after the arrest, following the operational pause. Kyodo's digest also carried the curfew as a lead item on Wednesday.
The curfew renews local scrutiny of crimes linked to the US presence. No court outcome was available in the sources checked this hour.
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- Watson said incidents like this demand a pause for reflection.
- He said discipline means looking after one another and doing what is right.