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# What Okinawa, Japan Tried in 2017
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/okinawa-japan-courts-martial-2017/
- Published: 2026-10-28T06:54:54.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T05:26:34.000Z
- Description: Okinawa, Japan tried 30 courts-martial in 2017, and every one ended in a conviction on at least one charge. The median confinement was 2 years, compared with 8 months across the Navy and Marine Corps.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Okinawa, Japan, 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/) › 2017

**Short answer:** Okinawa, Japan tried 30 courts-martial in 2017, and every one ended in a conviction on at least one charge. The median confinement was 2 years, compared with 8 months across the Navy and Marine Corps. Child sexual abuse charges under Article 120b appeared in 31% of cases, compared with 10% elsewhere.

Based on 30 cases · 2017 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Long Sentences After Conviction

Of 30 convictions, 29 included confinement (97%). The median confinement was 2 years, compared with 8 months in all Navy and Marine Corps cases that year. A quarter of the sentences were 3 years or longer.

18 of 30 convictions (60%) carried more than one year of confinement, compared with 31% service-wide. Sentences of more than 1 year and under 5 years were 43% of convictions, compared with 20%. 5 convictions (17%) carried 5 years or more, compared with 10%.

Only 1 conviction carried no confinement. Sentences under 6 months were 17% of convictions, compared with 37% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Sentences of 6 months to 1 year were 20%, about the same as the 23% elsewhere. These are adjudged sentences: what the court imposed at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, Navy and Marine Corps-wide |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | --------------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 1           | 3%         | 10%                               |
| Under 6 months                  | 5           | 17%        | 37%                               |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 6           | 20%        | 23%                               |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 13          | 43%        | 20%                               |
| 5 years or more                 | 5           | 17%        | 10%                               |

## Sex Offenses Against Adults and Children

Charge lists exist for 29 of the 30 cases. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) appeared in 9 of them (31%), compared with 10% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 11 (38%), compared with 19%.

Assault under Article 128 was the most common charge, in 15 cases (52%, compared with 37%). Article 80 (attempts) and the general article, Article 134, each appeared in 8 cases (28%), compared with 10% and 13%. Article 82 (soliciting) appeared in 4 cases (14%, compared with 3%). Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) appeared in 7 (24%, compared with 16%). Larceny under Article 121 was about the same as the service rate, 10% compared with 9%. A case with several articles counts under each one.

| UCMJ Article                                                                                                                                  | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault                              | 15    | 52%        | 37%                                         |
| [Art. 120](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault                       | 11    | 38%        | 19%                                         |
| [Art. 120b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault of a child | 9     | 31%        | 10%                                         |
| [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article                      | 8     | 28%        | 13%                                         |
| [Art. 80](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-80/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Attempts                               | 8     | 28%        | 10%                                         |
| [Art. 92](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-92/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Failure to obey order or regulation    | 7     | 24%        | 16%                                         |
| Art. 82 Soliciting                                                                                                                            | 4     | 14%        | 3%                                          |
| [Art. 121](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-121/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Larceny                              | 3     | 10%        | 9%                                          |

## Conviction on Every Leading Charge

Every case charging one of the top 4 articles ended in a conviction on that article. Assault had 15 convictions in 15 cases. Article 120 had 11 of 11, Article 120b had 9 of 9, and Article 134 had 8 of 8.

The median confinement after a conviction was 2.5 years for assault and for Article 120b, 3 years for Article 120, and 4.5 years for Article 134\. These rows can overlap, because one case may include several of these articles.

| Article                                      | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
| -------------------------------------------- | ----------------- | ----------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| Art. 128 Assault                             | 15                | 15 (100%)               | 2.5 years                               |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault             | 11                | 11 (100%)               | 3 years                                 |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 9                 | 9 (9 of 9)              | 2.5 years                               |
| Art. 134 General article                     | 8                 | 8 (8 of 8)              | 4.5 years                               |

## Punitive Discharges for Almost All Enlisted Members

A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for enlisted members. 93% of enlisted convictions included one: 14 bad-conduct discharges and 13 dishonorable discharges. Across all Navy and Marine Corps cases, the rate was 68%.

The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was not dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

## General Courts-Martial Tried Most Cases

Of 30 cases, 22 were general courts-martial and 8 were special courts-martial. The general court-martial share of 73% compares with 44% in all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2017.

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. Only a general court-martial can impose a sentence longer than one year.

## Who Was Accused

The accused were 20 junior enlisted members, 9 NCOs, and 1 officer. That rank mix is similar to all Navy and Marine Corps cases.

## Compared With Similar Installations

Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay (24 cases) and Norfolk, Virginia (39 cases) tried a similar number of cases. Okinawa had the longest median confinement of the 3: 2 years, compared with 1 year at Marine Corps Base Hawaii and 10 months at Norfolk.

Okinawa's punitive discharge rate of 93% was also the highest, compared with 83% at Marine Corps Base Hawaii and 59% at Norfolk. Norfolk had 32% of cases contested and 5 full acquittals in 12 contested cases that reached a verdict.

| Installation                          | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
| ------------------------------------- | ----- | --------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------------ | ----------------------------- |
| Okinawa, Japan                        | 30    | 0 of 3    | —                                   | 2 years            | 93%                           |
| Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay | 24    | —         | —                                   | 1 year             | 83%                           |
| Norfolk, Virginia                     | 39    | 32%       | 5 of 12                             | 10 months          | 59%                           |

## Rules of the Period and What the Records Cannot Show

These trials took place before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019\. That law later set fixed panel sizes, added judge-alone special courts-martial, and introduced written plea agreements. None of those changes applied to these cases.

Navy and Marine Corps records from this period often omit the plea, so this page does not report a contested share. Only 3 Okinawa records list a plea. Trial records also do not show offense dates, the evidence, plea terms, or cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/).

### How We Counted

Every court-martial tried at Okinawa, Japan with a trial date in 2017 (30 cases).

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)
- [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) (hub)
- [Okinawa, Japan in 2018: 40 Courts-Martial, Year in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/okinawa-japan-courts-martial-2018/) (previous / next)
- [Inside 70 Courts-Martial at Okinawa, Japan, 2017–2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/okinawa-japan-courts-martial-2017-2018/) (the whole period)
- [A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2015](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/bremerton-washington-courts-martial-2015/)
- [A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2017](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/bremerton-washington-courts-martial-2017/)
- [A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/bremerton-washington-courts-martial-2018/)
- [A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/bremerton-washington-courts-martial-2020/)
- [A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2021](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/bremerton-washington-courts-martial-2021/)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

Next: [Okinawa, Japan in 2018: 40 Courts-Martial, Year in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/okinawa-japan-courts-martial-2018/) →

**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.