The alleged rape took place in this car park

The Naha District Court ruled that Staff Sergeant Timothy Woodland, 25, raped the 24-year-old Japanese woman in a car park at a shopping complex near the Kadena air base.

Woodland had admitted having sex with the woman, but said it had been consensual.

The case aroused controversy because the US military took four days to hand Woodland over to the Japanese police, arguing that it needed guarantees he would be given fair treatment.

There are 50,000 US troops based in Japan, half of those in Okinawa.

Jail term

The jail term was slightly shorter than the three years which prosecutors had sought.

Lawyers said three years for rape was the norm in Japanese courts, adding that under Japanese criminal law, two years in prison is the minimum for rape, and that it is rare for the sentences to be over five years.

Woodland initially stood motionless as the sentence was read out, but then asked to sit down, after appearing to feel faint.

The case has aroused considerable interest

The trial, which began last September, heard the alleged rape victim say she was too scared to cry for help at the time of the incident.

She said she had given no sign she would consent to sex, and described such suggestions as "outrageous".

The incident was the latest in a series which provoked local resentment of the US military presence on the southern Japanese island.

In 1995 three servicemen raped a 12-year-old Okinawan girl, leading to massive protests.