Japan urges US to tighten discipline after another US Marine arrested

TOKYO – Japan has asked the United States to thoroughly enforce discipline after a US Marine in Okinawa Prefecture was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol during curfew hours imposed following a murder case involving another Marine, Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on Nov 2.Koizumi said he wants the US side to “take seriously” the fact that the incident occurred despite the curfew period starting Oct 9 in response to the arrest on Oct 4 of Devin Ballard, who was subsequently indicted on charges of robbing and murdering a local woman in Naha, the capital of the southern island prefecture.Japan has also requested the US side to take “effective preventive” measures and ensure that the curfew hours are strictly implemented, Koizumi said, referring to the midnight-to-5am curfew imposed during a 30-day “period of reflection”.Koizumi stressed that preventive measures are being discussed in bilateral high-level consultations following the case involving Ballard.“We want to reach conclusions as early as possible, announce the measures and put them into practice,” he said.Kalvin Montoya Cardona was arrested on Oct 31 after being caught with a blood-alcohol content twice the legal limit at around 12.25am in the city of Okinawa, local police said. KYODO