TOKYO: Around 100 Japanese protesters enraged by a woman’s alleged murder at the hands of a US Marine rallied outside the US embassy in Tokyo on Tuesday to protest “American soldiers’ violence”.

Crimes including rapes, assaults, hit-and-run and drunk-driving accidents by US military personnel have long triggered protests on the southern island of Okinawa, which bears a disproportionate burden of hosting about 70 percent of US military facilities in Japan.

Police said they had arrested a 20-year-old US Marine stationed on Okinawa on suspicion of killing a 39-year-old woman at a hotel in the city of Naha and stealing her wallet. The case has sparked public outrage, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dubbing the killing a “heinous crime”.

Protest organiser Sorane Sakihama, a 24-year-old Okinawa native, told the crowd at Tuesday’s rally: “With a far higher proportion of bases in Okinawa than in any other part of Japan, locals are exposed to the highest risk of harm at the hands of US soldiers in the country.” “The thought that we must raise our children in such circumstances feels utterly unjust,” she said.

“It fills me with nothing but anger and sadness.” Protesters held placards reading “no more American soldiers’ violence” and “Okinawa is not your amusement park!”. Under a 1960 agreement, Japan lacks primary jurisdiction over crimes committed by US military personnel while on duty. Even if crimes are committed while off-duty, as long as a suspect remains on base, they will not be handed over to Japan until they are indicted.

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2026