What Yokosuka, Japan Tried in 2016
Yokosuka, Japan held 11 courts-martial in 2016. Assault under Article 128 was charged in 8 of them (73%), compared with 38% across the Navy and Marine Corps. The median confinement was 2 years, compared with 6 months service-wide.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 4 min read
Trends › By Installation › Yokosuka, Japan › 2016
Short answer: Yokosuka, Japan held 11 courts-martial in 2016. Assault under Article 128 was charged in 8 of them (73%), compared with 38% across the Navy and Marine Corps. The median confinement was 2 years, compared with 6 months service-wide.
Assault Charges in Most Cases
All 11 records list the charges. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 8 cases (73%). Across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2016, the share was 38%.
Article 120 (rape and sexual assault), Article 134 (general article), and Article 107 (false official statements) each appeared in 3 cases (27%). Their service-wide shares were 21%, 12%, and 13%. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) and Article 80 (attempts) each appeared in 2 cases (18%). A case with several articles is counted under each one.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 8 | 73% | 38% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 3 | 27% | 21% |
| Art. 134 General article | 3 | 27% | 12% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 3 | 27% | 13% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 2 | 18% | 6% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 2 | 18% | 9% |
| Art. 82 Soliciting | 1 | 9% | 3% |
| Art. 109 Property other than military; waste, spoilage, destruction | 1 | 9% | 0% |
A 2-Year Median Confinement
10 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and all 10 sentences included confinement. The median confinement was 2 years. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, the median was 6 months. Among the sentences at Yokosuka, a quarter were 8 years or longer.
These are adjudged sentences. They are set at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each one covers every charge in the case.
Court Level and Rank
General courts-martial heard 6 cases and special courts-martial heard 5. The general share of 55% compares with 49% across the Navy and Marine Corps. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge or dismissal. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year.
The accused were 5 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 5 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 1 officer or warrant officer. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, 51% of the accused were junior enlisted.
Pleas, Acquittals, and Discharges
10 of the 11 records list the plea. 7 were guilty pleas and 3 were contested, a contested share of 30%. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, the share was 27%. A contested case has a not-guilty or mixed plea to at least one charge. 1 of the 3 contested cases ended in a full acquittal.
7 of 9 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, which is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Mayport and Bremerton
Mayport, Florida tried 27 cases in 2016 and Bremerton, Washington tried 37. Their median confinement was 8 months and 5 months, both shorter than the 2 years at Yokosuka. Their punitive discharge rates for convicted enlisted members were 68% and 56%. Bremerton had a contested share of 3%.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yokosuka, Japan | 11 | 30% | 1 of 3 | 2 years | 7 of 9 |
| Mayport, Florida | 27 | 23% | 2 of 6 | 8 months | 68% |
| Bremerton, Washington | 37 | 3% | 1 of 1 | 5 months | 56% |
What Falls Outside These Records
These trials came before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea and forum, so plea counts use only the records that list the plea. The records cover courts-martial only. They do not include nonjudicial punishment or administrative separations, and they do not describe the evidence, the plea terms, or offense dates.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Yokosuka, Japan with a trial date in 2016 (11 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
- Yokosuka, Japan: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- What Yokosuka, Japan Tried in 2015 (previous / next)
- What Yokosuka, Japan Tried in 2017 (previous / next)
- Yokosuka, Japan, 2013–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 96 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)
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.