The Okinawa prefectural assembly on Friday passed a resolution calling for a review of the agreement governing the stationing of US military forces on the Japanese island, according to Kyodo News.
The resolution follows the case of a US Marine accused of robbing and killing a local woman. The text urges revisions to the Japan-US Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) to push the US military to prevent similar incidents, and will be sent to the US Embassy. The assembly also adopted a statement with the same content addressed to the Japanese government.
Ryotaro Odo, who heads the assembly's special committee on US military bases, said the US military "does not function as an organization," pointing to shortcomings in training and discipline. He called the killing "extremely brutal and despicable," and urged the military to cooperate with investigators and discipline those responsible.
Some assembly members, however, opposed the resolution because it did not call for the dismissal of the top US commander in Okinawa, according to Kyodo News.
Private First Class Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is accused of killing 39-year-old Anna Yagi at a hotel in Naha on Saturday. He denies the charges.
The case has sparked a wave of protests in Tokyo and Okinawa. The island hosts the majority of the 54,000 US troops stationed in Japan. Crimes by US service members — including rape, assault, hit-and-run and drunk driving — have long fueled opposition.
The US military has suspended operations for 48 hours since Wednesday and imposed a 30-day curfew from midnight to 5 a.m., beginning Friday.
Tokyo summoned the US ambassador and the commander of US forces in Okinawa to protest the case, and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi condemned the "brutal" crime.
Okinawa, which was under US control from 1945 to 1972, still hosts many facilities reserved exclusively for US forces. The prefectural assembly passed a similar resolution in 2024 after a series of sexual assaults by US service members came to light, prompting the assemblies of Naha, Ginowan, Miyakojima and Motobu to submit letters of protest.
