According to a report in the 'Ryukyu Shimbun' on October 4th, in response to the alleged murder case involving US troops stationed in Japan, Japanese Defense Minister Shinzo Abe summoned the commander of the US troops stationed in Japan, Jost, to the Defense Ministry and expressed his protest.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe conveyed to the US delegation that Japan takes this issue extremely seriously, and requested concrete measures to prevent similar incidents from recurring. Prime Minister Abe disclosed this during a non-public meeting with reporters after.
In the early morning of the 3rd day, a female body was found at a hotel in Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture. On the 4th day, Devon Barad, a Marine member of the US Marine Base Puchengi, was arrested on suspicion of robbery and homicide. He is 20 years old.
When asked about the impact of this incident on the feelings of Okinawan citizens, Koizumi said, “My thought is that in the future, the Japan-US alliance must continue to be based on the trust of Japanese nationals and Okinawan citizens, and remain unshakable. Since some people have lost their lives due to this, such things must not happen again. We will earnestly demand that the US take corresponding measures.”
