U.S. military police detain a service member during a joint patrol of Gate 2 Street in Okinawa city, Okinawa, Sept. 27, 2025. (Brian McElhiney/Stars and Stripes)
U.S. military police arrested 15 service members during a recent patrol of the nightlife district in Okinawa city — the highest number of arrests on a single night since the patrols began in April, according to U.S. Forces Japan.
The patrol took place between midnight and 2 a.m. Saturday, a city spokesman said by phone Wednesday. Gate 2 Street in Okinawa city, lined with bars and nightclubs, is just outside Kadena Air Base.
Two other service members were arrested the same night during a separate patrol of Naha city, USFJ spokesman Army Maj. D. Hunter Nix said by email Wednesday.
The patrols — some of which include Japanese police — are part of an ongoing crackdown on U.S. military crime after a series of sexual assault allegations involving U.S. troops on the island that began in December 2023. A USFJ liberty order issued in October 2024 prohibits service members from drinking in off-base establishments between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.
During their sixth joint patrol with Japanese police in Okinawa city, the U.S. military arrested the 15 service members on accusations of violating the liberty order and the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Nix said.
The remaining two were arrested during the U.S. military’s first solo patrol of Naha, Okinawa’s capital, that same morning, Nix wrote in a separate email.
Military police detained two Marines after they threw water bottles at patrol officers, Marine Corps Installations Pacific commander Maj. Gen. Brian Wolford said at the scene.
Wolford accompanied the patrol that night and described the Naha streets as relatively quiet.
Nix declined to release additional details, including suspects’ branches of service or the specific charges they may face. Their commanders will “impose appropriate sanctions on those found in violation of the Liberty Order or the Uniform Code of Military Justice,” he said.
“These patrols contribute to the maintenance of good order and discipline and help foster strong relationships with local communities,” Nix added. “We will continue planning, coordinating, and executing these patrols in close collaboration with our Japanese partners.”
The Okinawa city patrol took place between midnight and 2 a.m. and included 17 Japanese participants from the city, the prefecture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Okinawa Liaison Office, and the Okinawa Defense Bureau, a city spokesman said by phone Wednesday. About eight U.S. military police took part.
Some Japanese government officials can speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.
Stars and Stripes reporter Keishi Koja contributed to this report.
AloJapan.com