5,000 criminal cases involving U.S. military-affiliated personnel over 37 years

Japanese police recorded 4,998 criminal cases nationwide involving U.S. military personnel, civilian employees and their family members from 1989 through May 2026, with nearly half occurring in Okinawa Prefecture, according to media reports.



Of the total, 2,447 cases, or 49.0 percent, occurred in Okinawa Prefecture, followed by Kanagawa Prefecture with 18.3 percent and Tokyo with 8.9 percent, the Akahata newspaper reported, citing National Police Agency data.



During the same period, 266 serious criminal cases, including murder, robbery, arson and rape, were recorded nationwide. Of these, 129 occurred in Okinawa, 67 in Kanagawa and 34 in Tokyo.



The report linked the high number of crimes involving U.S. military-related personnel to the burden of hosting U.S. military bases, arguing that the Japanese and U.S. governments had failed to take effective measures to address the problem.



The situation is particularly pronounced in Okinawa, which accounts for only about 0.6 percent of Japan's land area but hosts approximately 70 percent of all exclusive-use U.S. military facilities and installations in the country.