US Marines in Japan Face Court Martial for Rape

The US military is to court martial four marines who allegedly gang-raped a Japanese woman last year, in an apparent attempt to defuse anger over a string of crimes committed by American servicemen.

Local prosecutors dropped the charges against the men late last year after identifying "inconsistencies" in the victim's account of the crime.

The US, mindful of the recent furore surrounding its troops' conduct, took the unusual step of beginning its own legal proceedings.

The suspects, based at Iwakuni air base near Hiroshima, allegedly raped the woman, then 19, in a car in the city last October and stole cash from her purse.

Local media reports said the woman had told investigators that she consented to sex with one of the men.

Last week, prosecutors in Okinawa dropped a case against a marine accused of raping a 14-year-old girl.

The suspect was released after the victim withdrew her allegations. He is now being investigated by the US military ahead of possible disciplinary action.

Military authorities placed all US troops on the island, as well as their families and civilian base workers, under a 24-hour curfew for almost two weeks. On Monday, the curfew was relaxed during the daytime.

The gang rape of a 12-year-old girl by three US soldiers in Okinawa in 1995 sparked mass demonstrations and prompted Tokyo and Washington to discuss ways to reduce the military presence on the island, home to more than half of the 50,000 US troops stationed in Japan.