Four Us Marines to Face Courts Martial Accused of Gang Rape

The US military is to court-martial four marines accused of the gang rape of a Japanese woman last year, in an apparent attempt to defuse anger over a series of alleged crimes by American servicemen.

Local prosecutors dropped the charges against the men late last year after identifying "inconsistencies" in the woman's account. 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 airbase 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 after the alleged 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 big protests 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.