Japanese PM condemns alleged murder of Okinawa woman by US Marine

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi condemns

the alleged killing of a local woman on Okinawa by

a US Marine and demands full cooperation and tougher

disciplinary and preventive measures by the United States.

This as Okinawa officials push for a reexamination of

the US-Japan Status of Forces Agreement.

Some 150 people are seen protesting in Naha

after police found 39-year-old

Anna Yagi dead inside a hotel on the island

early Saturday with her wallet and backpack missing.

The police took in a suspect, the 20-year-old

Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard,

who is stationed at Futenma Air Station.

He has denied the allegations, according to Japanese media.

Okinawa was under US occupation from World War II until 1972.

Residents have long opposed the heavy American presence on the island

in part due to the increasing US military-related crimes which

cases rose to 101 last year from about 40 in 2020.