Dozens protest in Tokyo after Marine accused of murder in Okinawa

TOKYO (Reuters) - 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".