Yokosuka, Japan Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 21 Cases Show
The records hold 21 courts-martial at Yokosuka, Japan from 2024–2026. Of the convicted enlisted members, 69% got a punitive discharge; in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps, 52% did. Article 134 (the general article) was in 29% of cases here and 21% of cases service-wide.
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Trends › By Installation › Yokosuka, Japan › 2024–2026
Short answer: The records hold 21 courts-martial at Yokosuka, Japan from 2024–2026. Of the convicted enlisted members, 69% got a punitive discharge; in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps, 52% did. Article 134 (the general article) was in 29% of cases here and 21% of cases service-wide.
69% Received a Punitive Discharge
Of 16 convicted enlisted members, 11 got a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (69%). In the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps, the rate was 52%. 1 of the 11 was dishonorable, and the other 10 were bad-conduct discharges.
At Yokosuka in 2019–2023, the rate was 57%. The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was not dismissed. Members whose sentence had no punitive discharge can still be administratively separated later, and these records do not cover that.
Shorter Median Confinement
The median confinement in 2024–2026 was 5 months, slightly shorter than the 6-month median across the Navy and Marine Corps. In 2019–2023, the median here was 10 months.
78% of the 18 convictions included confinement. A quarter of those terms were 11 months or longer. The figures are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers all the charges in a case.
General and Special Courts-Martial
There were 10 general courts-martial and 11 special courts-martial. The 48% general share compares with 38% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
At each level, 7 of 9 convictions included confinement. The medians differed: 11 months at general courts-martial and 3 months at special courts-martial. At a special court-martial, confinement is capped at one year and a dishonorable discharge is not available. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence.
Pleas and Verdicts
There were 14 guilty pleas and 7 contested cases. In a contested case, the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The 33% contested share is about the same as the 36% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
Of the 7 contested cases with a verdict, 3 were full acquittals, meaning not guilty on every charge. In 2019–2023, the count was 4 of 11. With so few verdicts in each period, these counts describe what happened, not a stable rate.
Which Articles Were Charged?
All 21 records list charges. A case with several articles is counted under each. Article 134 was the most common, in 29% of cases, compared with 21% service-wide. Article 131b (obstructing justice) was in 14% of cases, compared with 5%. Article 133 (conduct unbecoming an officer) was in 10%, compared with 2%.
Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was in 10% of cases, compared with 6% service-wide. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) was in 14%, lower than the 19% service-wide. With 21 cases, each share rests on only a few cases.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 6 | 29% | 21% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 3 | 14% | 15% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 3 | 14% | 12% |
| Art. 92 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 Rape and sexual assault | 2 | 10% | 6% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 2 | 10% | 7% |
Earlier Period: 2019–2023
Yokosuka had 51 cases in 2019–2023, about 10 a year. Since then it has had about 8 a year, counting full years only. By year: 6 in 2024, 10 in 2025, and 5 in 2026, a partial year. The 21 cases are 2% of the 1,013 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in those years.
The contested share was 22% in the earlier period and 33% in the later one. Full acquittals in contested cases with a verdict were 4 of 11 and 3 of 7. Convictions with confinement were 85% and 78%. The general court-martial share was 47% and 48%. In small groups, a few cases can move a percentage, so these changes show direction, not precision.
| 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% |
Washington, D.C. and Cherry Point
Washington, D.C. had 21 cases and MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina had 23. Washington, D.C. had the same 33% contested share as Yokosuka. Cherry Point had 52%. The median confinement was 5 months at Yokosuka, 3 months at Washington, D.C., and 4 months at Cherry Point.
The largest difference was in punitive discharges. 69% of convicted enlisted members at Yokosuka received one, compared with 21% at Washington, D.C. and 50% at Cherry Point.
| 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% |
Rank of the Accused
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 60% of the accused, about the same as the 59% across the Navy and Marine Corps. NCOs were 35%, and officers were 5%.
Rule Changes and What the Records Do Not Show
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. Both rules depend on offense dates, which these records do not give. The 2024–2026 trials therefore include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the records cannot show whether the changes above are connected to these rules.
The records also do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. They do not include nonjudicial punishment or administrative separations.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial in the data tried at Yokosuka, Japan with a trial date in 2024–2026 (21 cases), compared with all 1,013 Navy and Marine Corps trials in those years. Dates are trial dates.
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)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Yokosuka, Japan, 2013–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 96 Cases (another period)
- Inside 51 Courts-Martial at Yokosuka, Japan, 2019–2023 (another period)
- Washington, D.C., 2024–2026: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 21 Cases (same years, similar size)
- MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 23 Cases Show (same years, similar size)
- Did Assault Cases at Yokosuka, Japan Change After 2019?
- Did Sexual Assault Cases at Yokosuka, Japan Change After 2019?
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Yokosuka, Japan, 2024–2026
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.