> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # What Changed at Yokosuka, Japan After 2024? 51 Cases vs. 21 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/yokosuka-japan-before-after-2024/ - Published: 2026-10-28T06:52:35.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T08:06:40.000Z - Description: From January 2024 through September 2026, Yokosuka, Japan held 21 courts-martial. In 2019–2023 it held 51. 69% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 57% in the earlier period and 52% across the Navy and Marine Corps. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Yokosuka, Japan, Navy-Marine Corps [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) › [Yokosuka, Japan](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-yokosuka-japan/) › Before and after 2024 **Short answer:** From January 2024 through September 2026, Yokosuka, Japan held 21 courts-martial. In 2019–2023 it held 51\. 69% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 57% in the earlier period and 52% across the Navy and Marine Corps. The median confinement was 10 months in the earlier period and 5 months in the later one. Based on 21 cases · 2024–2026 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Punitive Discharges Were More Common Than Service-Wide 11 of 16 convicted enlisted members received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (69%). In all Navy and Marine Corps cases in the same years, 52% did. Only 1 of the 11 was a dishonorable discharge, the more severe kind, which only a general court-martial can adjudge. There was 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, and that officer was not dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. Members whose sentence had no punitive discharge can still be administratively separated, and these records do not include administrative separations. ## Median Confinement Was 5 Months Of the 18 convictions, 78% included confinement. The median was 5 months, slightly shorter than the 6-month median for the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter of the terms were 11 months or longer. General courts-martial heard 10 cases. 7 of 9 convictions there included confinement, with a median of 11 months. Special courts-martial heard 11 cases. 7 of 9 convictions there also included confinement, with a median of 3 months. All figures are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in a case. ## 2019–2023 Compared With 2024–2026 The 2019–2023 records hold 51 Yokosuka cases over 5 years, about 10 a year. The later period has about 8 a year, counting full years. There were 6 cases in 2024, 10 in 2025, and 5 so far in 2026, a partial year. Here is how 6 measures compare, earlier period first. Median confinement: 10 months, then 5 months. Convictions with confinement: 85%, then 78%. Enlisted punitive discharges: 57%, then 69%. Contested share: 22%, then 33%. Full acquittals in contested cases with a verdict: 4 of 11, then 3 of 7\. General court-martial share: 47%, then 48%. With 21 recent cases, a few outcomes can change any of these figures, so they show direction only. | | 2019–2023 | 2024–2026 | | ----------------------------------- | --------- | --------- | | Cases | 51 | 21 | | Contested (of pleas recorded) | 22% | 33% | | Full acquittals (decided contested) | 4 of 11 | 3 of 7 | | Convictions with confinement | 85% | 78% | | Median confinement | 10 months | 5 months | | Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 57% | 69% | | General courts-martial | 47% | 48% | ## What Was Charged? Charges are listed in all 21 records, and a case with several articles counts under each. The general article (Article 134) was in 6 cases (29%). Across the Navy and Marine Corps, the share was 21%. Article 128 (assault), Article 128b (domestic violence), Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation), and Article 131b (obstructing justice) were each in 3 cases. For Article 131b, that is 14% here and 5% service-wide. Article 133 (conduct unbecoming an officer) was in 2 cases. With counts this small, 1 case can change a share. | UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the whole Navy and Marine Corps docket | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----- | ---------- | --------------------------------------------- | | [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article | 6 | 29% | 21% | | [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault | 3 | 14% | 15% | | [Art. 128b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-128b-domestic-violence/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Domestic violence | 3 | 14% | 12% | | [Art. 92](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-92/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Failure to obey order or regulation | 3 | 14% | 19% | | Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 3 | 14% | 5% | | Art. 133 Conduct unbecoming an officer | 2 | 10% | 2% | | [Art. 120](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault | 2 | 10% | 6% | | [Art. 80](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-80/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Attempts | 2 | 10% | 7% | ## Guilty Pleas and Contested Cases There were 14 guilty pleas and 7 not-guilty or mixed pleas. In a contested case, the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The 33% contested share here is slightly lower than the 36% for the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole. 3 of the 7 contested cases with a verdict were full acquittals. The records do not describe the evidence, so they cannot show why a case ended the way it did. ## Rank and Court Level By rank, there were 12 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 7 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 1 officer or warrant officer. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, 59% were junior enlisted, so the mix was similar. 10 cases were general courts-martial and 11 were special courts-martial. The 48% general share compares with 38% in the rest of the service. Any lawful sentence is available at a general court-martial. At a special court-martial, confinement is capped at one year and a dishonorable discharge is not available. ## Washington, D.C. and MCAS Cherry Point Washington, D.C. had 21 cases and MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina had 23 in the same years. Of the 3, Yokosuka had the highest enlisted punitive discharge share: 69%, compared with 21% and 50%. It also had the longest median confinement: 5 months, compared with 3 months and 4 months. Yokosuka's contested share, 33%, was the same as Washington, D.C.'s and lower than Cherry Point's 52%. | Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) | | --------------------------------- | ----- | --------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------------ | ----------------------------- | | Yokosuka, Japan | 21 | 33% | 3 of 7 | 5 months | 69% | | Washington, D.C. | 21 | 33% | 2 of 7 | 3 months | 21% | | MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina | 23 | 52% | 3 of 11 | 4 months | 50% | ## Rule Changes Since December 2023 Special trial counsel, not commanders, have decided since December 28, 2023 whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. If every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new parameters. Both rules depend on offense dates, and these records give none. The 2024–2026 trials therefore include cases under the old and new rules. The records cannot show whether either change affected these numbers. ## What the Records Do Not Show Only cases tried by court-martial are counted. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, and cases closed with no action are not. The evidence and the plea terms are not in the records. 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 Yokosuka, Japan in 2019–2023 (51) and 2024–2026 (21). 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 - [Yokosuka, Japan: Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-yokosuka-japan/) (hub) - [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) (hub) - [Yokosuka, Japan, 2013–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 96 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/yokosuka-japan-courts-martial-2013-2018/) - [Inside 51 Courts-Martial at Yokosuka, Japan, 2019–2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/yokosuka-japan-courts-martial-2019-2023/) - [Yokosuka, Japan Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 21 Cases Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/yokosuka-japan-courts-martial-2024-2026/) - [What Changed at Yokosuka, Japan After 2019? 96 Cases vs. 51](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/yokosuka-japan-before-after-2019/) - [Bremerton, Washington Before and After 2019: How Its Courts-Martial Changed](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/bremerton-washington-before-after-2019/) - [Bremerton, Washington Before and After 2024: How Its Courts-Martial Changed](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/bremerton-washington-before-after-2024/) - [Great Lakes, Illinois Before and After 2019: How Its Courts-Martial Changed](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/great-lakes-illinois-before-after-2019/) - [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members) ## Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Yokosuka, Japan, 2024–2026 - [Cory Carver](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-cory-carver/) - [Benjamin Garcia](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-benjamin-garcia/) - [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.