A Year of Courts-Martial at Okinawa, Japan: 2023
The records list 16 courts-martial at Okinawa, Japan in 2023. Every one of the 14 convictions included confinement, and the median confinement was 9 months, compared with 6 months across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2023.
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Trends › By Installation › Okinawa, Japan › 2023
Short answer: The records list 16 courts-martial at Okinawa, Japan in 2023. Every one of the 14 convictions included confinement, and the median confinement was 9 months, compared with 6 months across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2023. Article 134 (general article) was charged in 36% of cases, compared with 22% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
Confinement in Every Conviction
Confinement was part of 100% of the 14 convictions. The median confinement was 9 months. Across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2023, the median was 6 months. A quarter of the confinement sentences here were 1.5 years or longer.
These are adjudged sentences, as imposed at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case.
Punitive Discharges
Of 14 convicted enlisted members, 9 received a punitive discharge (64%): 5 bad-conduct discharges and 4 dishonorable discharges. The share across the Navy and Marine Corps was 63%, about the same. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Which Articles Were Charged?
Charge lists exist for 14 of the 16 cases. Article 134 (general article) was the most common charge, in 5 cases (36%). Article 128 (assault) followed in 4 cases (29%), compared with 26% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
Article 128b (domestic violence) appeared in 3 cases, or 21%, compared with 10%. Article 129 (burglary and unlawful entry) appeared in 2 cases, 14% compared with 3%. A case with several articles is counted under each one.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 5 | 36% | 22% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 4 | 29% | 26% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 3 | 21% | 10% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 2 | 14% | 6% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 2 | 14% | 10% |
| Art. 129 Burglary; unlawful entry | 2 | 14% | 3% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 1 | 7% | 13% |
| Art. 132 Retaliation | 1 | 7% | 0% |
Few Contested Cases
The plea is listed in 14 of the 16 records. Of those, 11 accused pleaded guilty and 3 contested at least one charge, meaning a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share was 21%, lower than the 32% across the Navy and Marine Corps. None of the 3 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal.
Rank and Court Level
Among the accused with rank recorded, junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 71% and NCOs made up 29%. No officers were tried. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, junior enlisted members were 65% of the accused.
General courts-martial made up 10 of the 16 cases (62%), compared with 46% across the Navy and Marine Corps. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Okinawa Next to Bremerton and Norfolk
Bremerton, Washington tried 24 cases in 2023 and Norfolk, Virginia tried 29. Okinawa had the longest median confinement of these installations, at 9 months, compared with 31 days at Bremerton and 6 months at Norfolk. Its punitive discharge rate, 64%, was also the highest. Its contested share, 21%, was the lowest, compared with 35% and 48%.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Okinawa, Japan | 16 | 21% | 0 of 3 | 9 months | 64% |
| Bremerton, Washington | 24 | 35% | 1 of 8 | 31 days | 33% |
| Norfolk, Virginia | 29 | 48% | 5 of 14 | 6 months | 52% |
What the Records Do Not Show
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. Cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not included.
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 2023 (16 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 2021 (previous / next)
- What Okinawa, Japan Tried in 2024 (previous / next)
- Okinawa, Japan, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 100 Cases (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)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Okinawa, Japan, 2023
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 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. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.