TOKYO: A US Marine stationed on Japan's southern island of Okinawa was arrested on suspicion of the murder of a Japanese woman, police said on Sunday.
The suspect "killed the 39-year-old woman at a hotel in Naha and stole her wallet on Saturday", a local police spokesman said.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Japan had lodged a protest with US authorities and called the crime "exceptionally brutal and vicious". US Ambassador George Glass posted on social media that he had spoken with Japan's foreign ministry and Okinawa's governor, offering "our sincere condolences and pledging full cooperation as the investigation continues".
"Incidents and accidents involving US military personnel cause great anxiety among the local community and must not be allowed to happen," Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said.
The United States has around 54,000 military personnel stationed in Japan, mostly on Okinawa. — AFP
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