🔻Japan police say they have arrested a gunman from the U.S. Navy named Deven Jacob Ballard on suspicion of murdering a Japanese woman named Annie Yagi.

Police said Ballard is 20 years old and was stationed on Okinawa Island in southern Japan.

He is also accused of stealing from 39-year-old Ms. Yagi from a hotel in Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture.

It has been reported that the American serviceman has denied the charges.

A series of crimes committed by American personnel in Okinawa, including sexual assault, assaults, hit-and-run incidents, and drunk driving, has long been a source of protests in this region.

More than 54,000 U.S. military personnel are based in Japan, and are stationed on this island.

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