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# 20 General Article Courts-Martial at Okinawa, Japan, 2019–2023: What the Records Show
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/okinawa-japan-article-134-2019-2023/
- Published: 2026-10-28T06:51:32.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T05:16:14.000Z
- Description: All 20 courts-martial charging Article 134 (general article) at Okinawa, Japan from 2019 to 2023 ended in a conviction on at least one charge. The median confinement was 2.2 years, compared with 1.5 years across the Navy and Marine Corps.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Okinawa, Japan, Article 134, Navy-Marine Corps

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) › [Okinawa, Japan](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-okinawa-japan/) › Article 134, 2019–2023

**Short answer:** All 20 courts-martial charging Article 134 (general article) at Okinawa, Japan from 2019 to 2023 ended in a conviction on at least one charge. The median confinement was 2.2 years, compared with 1.5 years across the Navy and Marine Corps. 75% of convictions carried more than one year of confinement, compared with 52% service-wide, and 90% of enlisted convictions included a punitive discharge.

Based on 20 cases · 2019–2023 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Longer Sentences Than Across the Service

Article 134, the general article, covers a wide range of conduct. All 20 cases at Okinawa in these years ended in a conviction, and 19 of those sentences included confinement (95%). The median confinement was 2.2 years, higher than the 1.5-year median in Navy and Marine Corps Article 134 cases. A quarter of the sentences were 4.2 years or longer.

These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers every charge in the case, not only the Article 134 charge.

## Most Sentences Were Longer Than One Year

15 of 20 convictions (75%) carried more than one year of confinement, compared with 52% across the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole. 11 convictions (55%) carried more than 1 year but under 5 years, compared with 42% elsewhere. 4 (20%) carried 5 years or more, compared with 10%.

1 conviction (5%) carried no confinement. 2 convictions (10%) carried under 6 months, and 2 (10%) carried 6 months to 1 year. Only a general court-martial can impose more than one year of confinement. A special court-martial is capped at one year.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps Article 134 cases in 2019–2023 |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 1           | 5%         | 11%                                                             |
| Under 6 months                  | 2           | 10%        | 20%                                                             |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 2           | 10%        | 17%                                                             |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 11          | 55%        | 42%                                                             |
| 5 years or more                 | 4           | 20%        | 10%                                                             |

## Other Charges in the Same Cases

Article 134 was the only charge in 8 of the 20 cases. In the other cases, Article 128 (assault) and Article 120b (child sexual abuse) were each charged in 5\. Article 120 (sexual assault) was charged in 4\. Article 120c (indecent recording and exposure) and Article 81 (conspiracy) were each charged in 3.

Each sentence covers the full case, including those other charges. The records do not divide a sentence by charge. For that reason, the long sentences cannot be traced to the general article alone.

## Punitive Discharges in 90% of Enlisted Convictions

90% of enlisted convictions included a punitive discharge: 13 dishonorable discharges and 5 bad-conduct discharges. In the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps, the rate was 74%.

A dishonorable discharge is more severe than a bad-conduct discharge, and only a general court-martial can impose it. A member who receives neither at trial can still face administrative separation later. These records do not show administrative separations, nonjudicial punishment, or any later change to a sentence on appeal or through clemency.

## Few Contested Cases

16 of the 20 records list a plea. Of those, 14 accused pleaded guilty and 2 contested. A contested case is one with a not-guilty or mixed plea to at least one charge. That is 12% contested, compared with 30% in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 134 cases in 2019–2023.

Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea. For that reason, the plea figures cover 16 records, not all 20.

## Rank and Court Level

The accused were 17 junior enlisted members, 3 NCOs, and 0 officers. That group is more junior than in the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole. The records show only the rank group, not time in service or duties.

General courts-martial tried 17 of the 20 cases (85%), compared with 72% in Navy and Marine Corps Article 134 cases overall. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

## More Cases in the Later Years

The trials took place from April 2019 through October 2023\. There were 2 cases in 2019 and 2 in 2020\. The count then rose to 4 in 2021, 7 in 2022, and 5 in 2023\. Over the full period, Article 134 cases were 20% of the 100 courts-martial at Okinawa, Japan.

With 20 cases in total, each case has a large effect on every percentage on this page. A few cases more or fewer would change the comparisons.

## What the Records Cannot Show

Trial records list charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence or the plea terms, and they give trial dates, not offense dates. Conduct handled by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action is not counted. The general article covers many kinds of conduct, and these figures count all of it together.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 134 on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com). Dates and sources for the law changes: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/).

### How We Counted

Courts-martial tried at Okinawa, Japan in 2019–2023 that charged Article 134 (20 cases), compared with every Navy and Marine Corps case charging Article 134 in those years.

Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in [Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/), data updated October 24, 2026\. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: [how this data was built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-the-military-trial-results-data-was-built/). Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.

## Related Analysis

- [Okinawa, Japan: Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-okinawa-japan/) (hub)
- [Article 134 (General Article): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-134-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) (hub)
- [Okinawa, Japan, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 100 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/okinawa-japan-courts-martial-2019-2023/)
- [Inside 70 Courts-Martial at Okinawa, Japan, 2017–2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/okinawa-japan-courts-martial-2017-2018/)
- [Inside 50 Courts-Martial at Okinawa, Japan, 2024–2026](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/okinawa-japan-courts-martial-2024-2026/)
- [General Article Cases at Okinawa, Japan: 2017–2018 vs. 2019–2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/okinawa-japan-article-134-before-after-2019/)
- [Is Navy-Marine Corps General Article Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 134, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-134-trend-2017-2025/)
- [Article 134 explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

## Military Judges Who Presided Over Article 134 Cases at Okinawa, Japan, 2019–2023

- [Adam King](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-adam-king/)
- [Terrance Reese](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-terrance-reese/)
- [Benjamin Robertson](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-benjamin-robertson/)

Names and links only. Each judge's record of pleas, findings, and sentences is on their Know Your Judge page, part of the [Court-Martial Characters](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judges/) membership.

**About the author.** Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts *Where All The Bodies Are Buried* and runs the [Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.