A US Marine was arrested Sunday on suspicion of murder and robbery after a woman’s body was discovered in a hotel room in Japan, prompting the country’s prime minister to express her outrage to the US over the alleged incident she called “ extremely brutal and heinous.”
A 39-year-old woman was found unresponsive in her hotel room in Naha city on Okinawa island and pronounced dead at the scene early Saturday, Okinawa police said.
“The Government of Japan has strongly protested to the U.S. side and has called for the fullest possible cooperation with the investigation, thorough discipline among U.S. military personnel, and comprehensive measures to prevent the recurrence of crimes and accidents,” Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in a statement on X.
Police told CNN that based on the condition of the woman’s body, she appeared to have been murdered, but did not provide any more details.
The 20-year-old Marine was stationed at Futenma Air Station, also on the island, police added.
CCTV footage reportedly showed a man, believed to be a foreign national, with a shaved head, entering the hotel room with the woman and later leaving the building with her belongings in hand, police said.
In a statement, the US Marine Corps extended condolences to the victim’s family and said it takes the allegations “very seriously and expects every Marine to adhere to the highest standards of behavior.”
Credit: cnn.com
