US Marine arrested over Okinawa woman's murder

A 20-year-old US Marine stationed on Japan's Okinawa island was arrested on suspicion of murdering a 39-year-old Japanese woman at a hotel in Naha, police said on Sunday.

A local police spokesman told AFP the suspect killed the woman at the hotel on Saturday and stole her wallet.

US Ambassador George Glass said he had spoken with Japan's foreign ministry and Okinawa's governor to offer condolences and pledge full cooperation as the investigation continues.

Japanese public broadcaster NHK and other local media, citing investigation sources, reported that CCTV footage near the scene showed a foreign man entering a room with a woman and later leaving with her belongings. NHK reported that police found a 20-year-old man matching the description, asked him to go voluntarily to a local police station and arrested him there.

NHK reported that the suspect denied the charges.

The United States has about 54,000 military personnel stationed in Japan, mostly on Okinawa. Crimes and accidents involving US personnel have long sparked protests on Okinawa and have been a recurring irritant in Japan-US relations.