Update:
I developed a work around that produces the desired effect by overriding the AutoTickDisplayDateAxis extension of the DateAxis and subsequently customizing the plot's date and time formats.
Here is the code:
def configureChart(self, chart):
from java.text import SimpleDateFormat
from org.jfree.chart.axis import DateAxis
pureDateFormat = SimpleDateFormat("yyyy/MM/dd")
pureTimeFormat = SimpleDateFormat("h:mm:ss a z")
dateAxis = DateAxis()
plot = chart.getPlot()
plot.setDomainAxis(dateAxis)
plotField1 = plot.getClass().getDeclaredField('dateFormat')
plotField2 = plot.getClass().getDeclaredField('timeFormat')
plotField1.setAccessible(True)
plotField2.setAccessible(True)
plotField1.set(plot, pureDateFormat)
plotField2.set(plot, pureTimeFormat)
Here is the XTrace Mode result:
Here is the Mark Mode result: