Japan Seeks Talks with US on Controls for American Military Personnel

Following the arrest of a US Marine on charges of murdering a Japanese woman, Tokyo announced it is in talks with Washington about imposing stricter controls on the activities of American military personnel.

Following the arrest of a US Marine accused of murdering a Japanese woman, Tokyo said it was in talks with Washington about imposing tighter controls on the activities of US military personnel.

According to Ambassador Arjan, in the midst of protests against the murder of a Japanese woman who was said to have been killed by an American marine, Motegi announced that high-level expert talks between Tokyo and Washington have started since last week.

US Marine Devin Ballard, stationed at Futenma Air Base, was arrested on October 4 on suspicion of robbery and murder of Anna Yagi in a hotel in Naha city. This murder happened a day before the arrest of this American soldier and he denies these accusations.

Following this arrest, the US forces in Okinawa stopped their normal activities for 48 hours and implemented a nighttime curfew for 30 days.

According to Ambassador Arjan Motegi, he announced in a committee of the Japanese Parliament that Tokyo and Washington will discuss the application of stricter controls on the activities of American military personnel.

The senior Japanese diplomat told lawmakers that the administration will review the US military's policy on freedom of movement and behavior of personnel outside the base, as well as the possibility of conducting joint patrols with the presence of US forces and Japanese police.

The statements of the Japanese official are being made today, as it was announced earlier, that the United States intends to carefully review the code of conduct of its military forces.

Motegi announced in the gathering of parliament lawmakers that he called this murder incident "regrettable" in a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday.

Sexual violence and aggression by American soldiers in Japan is unprecedented, and this issue has repeatedly caused public protests against the presence of American soldiers in Japan in the past decades.

In 2024, after cases of sexual violence by US personnel, Washington and Tokyo tightened regulations to deal with these cases, including restrictions on being in places that serve alcohol.

Talks between Tokyo and Washington are taking place following the protests in Japan. Last Friday, the Okinawa local assembly demanded a fundamental revision of the "Status of Forces Agreement" between Japan and the United States; An agreement governing the presence of US forces in Japan.