September 12, 2026
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2026 September 9 - 15 TOP3 [US FORCES]
Over 80% of US servicepersons committing crimes not brought into court |
Out of non-traffic Penal Code offenses in Japan involving U.S. military personnel, their family members, or U.S. civilian employees attached to the U.S. military, only 15.7% went to trial last year, while 84.3% were exempted from prosecution.
This has come to light in materials which the Japan Peace Committee obtained from the Justice Ministry through an information disclosure request.
According to the materials, the number of indictments against U.S. military-related members totaled 21, while 113 cases were dismissed. The 15.7% is less than half of the overall prosecution rate in Japan (37.7%). Of crimes committed by U.S. servicepersons, 60% are concentrated in Okinawa Prefecture.
What stands out is the low prosecution rate for sexual assaults. The percentage of U.S military personnel charged with sex crimes in 2025 stood at only 10%. Nine out of ten U.S. military personnel were not indicted though they were arrested for non-consensual sexual intercourse and non-consensual sexual intercourse resulting in death or injury. The total number of arrests for sex offenses in 2025 was 12, up five from the previous year. Of them, seven were in Okinawa.
The trend of low prosecution rates for U.S. military-related members has persisted for many years. Behind this lies the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) and a secret pact under which Japan renounces its jurisdiction over crimes and accidents committed by U.S. servicemen.
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Article 17 of the SOFA states that the United States has the primary right to exercise jurisdiction over offenses committed by U.S. soldiers in Japan “on duty”, while Japan has the primary jurisdiction over crimes occurring “off duty”. However, under the 1953 secret pact concluded at a Japan-U.S. joint committee meeting, Japan promised not to exercise its jurisdiction over U.S. military-related crimes except for those it considers to be “substantively important”.
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