Japanese police investigate murder of woman in Okinawa hotel room

Japanese police were called to a hotel room in Naha, the capital city of Okinawa, in the early hours of last Saturday morning. A hotel employee entered the room after 39-year-old Anna Yagi failed to leave at her scheduled checkout time, according to the Daily Mail. Paramedics were unable to save Yagi, and a post-mortem examination determined that she died of suffocation from strangulation between 2am and 4am. [1]

The incident has led to protests by furious local residents on the island, the Daily Mail reported. Local police stated that tensions regarding crimes, particularly sexual assault, committed by American servicemen in Okinawa have been increasing for decades. [1]

As FTMQ News reported earlier, a United States Marine was arrested on suspicion of killing a local woman. Following the arrest, United States military commanders instituted a 48-hour operational pause that confined service members to their bases. Lieutenant General Benjamin T. Watson ordered the restrictions and announced that troops would receive mandatory training on discipline and conduct standards. [4]