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Japanese prosecutors have formally charged or indicted US Marine Devin Jacob Ballard in connection with the alleged murder and robbery of a woman in Japan, according to reports from The Guardian, BBC News and ABC Australia Sport.

The case concerns the alleged killing of Anna Yagi, 39, in Okinawa. The Guardian reports that Ballard is accused of fatally strangling Yagi at a hotel and taking a backpack containing a wallet. The report attributes those details to Japanese media and public broadcaster NHK.

The Guardian describes Ballard as a 20-year-old US Marine lance corporal assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa. The same report says he denies the charges.

The prosecution has drawn public outrage in Okinawa or Japan, with ABC Australia Sport describing widespread anger on the southern island and BBC News reporting that the killing caused outrage in Japan.

ABC Australia Sport characterizes the heavy US military presence on Okinawa as a sensitive issue in relation to the case. The available reports use different terms for the prosecution, including “charged,” “indicted” and “filed formal charges,” and do not clarify the precise Japanese procedural designation.

SOURCES

  1. The GuardianJapanese prosecutors charge US marine suspected of robbing and killing woman
  2. ABC Australia SportUS marine charged over Japanese woman's murder
  3. BBC NewsUS Marine indicted for murder and robbery of woman in Japan