Okinawa, Japan in 2018: 40 Courts-Martial, Year in Review
Okinawa, Japan had 40 courts-martial in 2018. The median confinement after a conviction was 2.5 years, compared with 7 months in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. Article 120b child sexual abuse charges appeared in 25% of cases, compared with 10% service-wide.
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Trends › By Installation › Okinawa, Japan › 2018
Short answer: Okinawa, Japan had 40 courts-martial in 2018. The median confinement after a conviction was 2.5 years, compared with 7 months in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. Article 120b child sexual abuse charges appeared in 25% of cases, compared with 10% service-wide.
Many Sentences of 5 Years or More
The largest difference from the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps is in the longest sentences. Of 39 convictions, 12 carried confinement of 5 years or more: 31%, compared with 9% across the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter of all sentences were 5 years or longer.
33 of 39 convictions carried confinement. The median confinement was 2.5 years, compared with 7 months service-wide. 20 of 39 convictions (51%) carried more than one year, compared with 30%. Sentences under 6 months were 13% of convictions, compared with 32%. The share with no confinement was 15%, the same as across the service.
These are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers every charge in the case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 6 | 15% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 5 | 13% | 32% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 8 | 21% | 23% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 8 | 21% | 20% |
| 5 years or more | 12 | 31% | 9% |
Charges Involving Children and Attempts
All 40 records list charges. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) appeared in 10 cases (25%), compared with 10% in all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2018. Article 80 (attempts) also appeared in 10 (25%, compared with 12%). Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 10 (25%, compared with 16%).
Assault under Article 128 was the most common charge, in 14 cases (35%), about the same as the 34% service-wide. Drug charges under Article 112a appeared in 22% of cases, compared with 26%. Article 107 (false official statements) appeared in 15%, compared with 11%. Article 92 (orders violations) appeared in 18%, compared with 13%. 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 Assault | 14 | 35% | 34% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 10 | 25% | 16% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 10 | 25% | 10% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 10 | 25% | 12% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 9 | 22% | 26% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 7 | 18% | 13% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 6 | 15% | 11% |
| Art. 134 General article | 6 | 15% | 15% |
Results for Each Top Charge
Almost every case ended in a conviction on the charged article. Assault, Article 120b, and Article 80 each ended in a conviction on that article in every case charging it: 14 of 14, 10 of 10, and 10 of 10. Article 120 ended in a conviction on that article in 9 of 10 cases (90%).
The median confinement differed by charge. After an Article 120 conviction, the median was 5 years. It was 2.7 years for Article 120b, 2.2 years for Article 80, and 8 months for assault. One case may include several of these articles, so the rows overlap.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 14 | 14 (100%) | 8 months |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 10 | 9 (90%) | 5 years |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 10 | 10 (100%) | 2.7 years |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 10 | 10 (100%) | 2.2 years |
More Dishonorable Than Bad-Conduct Discharges
Of 38 convicted enlisted members, 30 received a punitive discharge: 18 dishonorable discharges and 12 bad-conduct discharges. That rate of 79% compares with 66% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. A dishonorable discharge is the more severe punitive discharge, and a special court-martial cannot impose one.
The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A member sentenced without a punitive discharge can still be administratively separated later.
Court Level
General courts-martial were 24 of the 40 cases, or 60%, compared with 45% across the Navy and Marine Corps. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. The median confinement in these 24 cases was 5 years.
The 16 special courts-martial had a median confinement of 6 months. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year.
How 2018 Compared With 2017
The number of cases went from 30 to 40. Median confinement went from 2 years to 2.5 years. The share of convictions with confinement went from 97% to 85%. Punitive discharges for enlisted members went from 93% to 79%. General courts-martial went from 73% to 60% of cases.
With groups this small, a few cases can change each figure. These changes show direction, not precise size.
| 2017 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 30 | 40 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 0 of 3 | 0 of 1 |
| Convictions with confinement | 97% | 85% |
| Median confinement | 2 years | 2.5 years |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 93% | 79% |
| General courts-martial | 73% | 60% |
Rank and Similar Installations
The accused were 25 junior enlisted members, 13 NCOs, and 1 officer. That group is more junior than in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps.
San Diego, California (36 cases) and Bremerton, Washington (28 cases) tried a similar number of cases. Their median confinement was 8 months and 6 months. Their punitive discharge rates were 63% and 46%. All of those figures are lower than Okinawa's. San Diego had 26% of cases contested and 7 full acquittals in 9 contested cases that reached a verdict. Bremerton had 18% contested and 0 full acquittals in 5.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Okinawa, Japan | 40 | 0 of 1 | — | 2.5 years | 79% |
| San Diego, California | 36 | 26% | 7 of 9 | 8 months | 63% |
| Bremerton, Washington | 28 | 18% | 0 of 5 | 6 months | 46% |
Rules and What the Records Cannot Show
These cases were tried before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. That law later set fixed panel sizes, created judge-alone special courts-martial, and introduced written plea agreements. None of those changes applied here.
Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea. Only 1 Okinawa record from 2018 lists a plea, so this page does not report a contested share. The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not show the evidence, plea terms, nonjudicial punishment, or administrative separations.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Okinawa, Japan with a trial date in 2018 (40 cases).
Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in Military Trial Results, data updated October 24, 2026. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: how this data was built. Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.
Related Analysis
- Okinawa, Japan: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- What Okinawa, Japan Tried in 2017 (previous / next)
- What Okinawa, Japan Tried in 2019 (previous / next)
- Inside 70 Courts-Martial at Okinawa, Japan, 2017–2018 (the whole period)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2015
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2017
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2018
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2020
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
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. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.