US military in Okinawa to impose curfew after alleged murder by marine

The US military in Japan's southern prefecture of Okinawa will impose a curfew from midnight to 5am for one month starting Friday following the arrest of a Marine on suspicion of robbing and murdering a local woman.

All US military personnel in Okinawa will also observe a 48-hour operational pause from noon Wednesday, during which there will be "no off-base liberty, including a complete prohibition of alcohol consumption on or off base," Okinawa area coordinator of US Forces Japan Lieutenant General Benjamin Watson says. The 20-year-old suspect, Devin Ballard, is stationed at the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa.

This as a group of Japanese citizens rallied outside the US Embassy in Japan on Wednesday to voice their outrage after a Marine suspected of killing a woman in Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa was arrested Sunday. Protesters criticised the Japanese government for still pushing ahead with the construction of a new US base in Henoko saying it is ignoring public sentiment about US troops.