Dozens protest in Tokyo after Marine accused of murder in Okinawa

TOKYO: Dozens of protesters lined up in front of Japan's Foreign Ministry on Thursday after a US Marine was accused of killing a woman in the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, many holding signs decrying crimes by US service members.

The case is the latest in a string of incidents stretching back years that have fuelled unease over the large US troop presence on the island chain near Taiwan and China, with US officials warning it could undermine ties vital to security in East Asia.

Public reaction to Anna Yagi's killing, however, has been muted compared with the mass demonstrations that followed the rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan girl by three US servicemen in 1995.

Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is suspected of killing Yagi, 39, in a hotel in the Okinawan capital of Naha last weekend and taking her wallet and backpack. Ballard denied the allegations, police said.

Leaders of Thursday's protest spoke over loudspeakers about abuses by US service members and called on the government to respond, with others in the crowd rattling noisemakers in assent.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has called the killing "extremely brutal and heinous", and Tokyo said it had strongly protested to the US and demanded measures to prevent a repeat of such incidents.

Japan hosts the largest overseas contingent of US forces globally. Most of the 18,000 Japan-based Marines are stationed in Okinawa, which the US held from the end of World War Two until 1972.

That presence has repeatedly stirred resentment among residents over issues such as noise, aircraft crashes and the conduct of personnel.

The US on Wednesday began a 48-hour pause of military operations and a ban on alcohol while troops undergo training on standards and discipline.

Service members have also been given a month-long curfew for a "period of reflection."