Okinawa police arrest Marine Lance Cpl. Devin J. Ballard in a Naha hotel death

Under the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement, Japan has the primary right to handle off-duty offenses by American service members. That is why Okinawa police, not the Marine Corps, have Ballard in custody off base. Tokyo's protest and the Corps' pledge to cooperate sit next to a Japanese investigation that has not reached a court judgment.

USA TODAY identified the Marine as Devin J. Ballard, a lance corporal stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma with the III Marine Expeditionary Force. Kyodo News and other outlets have also identified him as Devin Jacob Ballard. Police say he is suspected of killing Yagi and taking her wallet and backpack at a hotel in Naha in the early hours of Saturday, Oct. 3. Kyodo News reported that police say she died of suffocation from being strangled. Jiji Press reported that an autopsy found she died of suffocation after being strangled, and that police say Ballard told investigators he does not know anything about it.

Japan's foreign minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, summoned U.S. Ambassador George Glass and lodged a protest, Kyodo News and USA TODAY reported. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called the alleged crime extremely regrettable. The Marine Corps said it is actively cooperating with Japanese authorities and that the Marine is in the custody of local authorities while the investigation proceeds. An arrest is an accusation, not a conviction; everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.