A Japanese court Friday sentenced a U.S. marine to 3 1/2 years in jail for raping a woman on the southern island of Okinawa in a case that stirred resentment against the U.S. military presence.

The Naha District Court issued a statement on the sentence handed down to Lance Corporal Jose W. Torres, 21, who had pleaded guilty to charges of rape and assault.

Torres was arrested by Okinawan police in June on suspicion of raping a 19-year-old Japanese woman after punching her in the face in the early hours of May 25 in an entertainment area near a U.S. base.

Torres pleaded guilty to the charges in July, during the first court session of his trial in the Okinawan capital, Naha.

Okinawa is home to about half the U.S. troops in Japan. Incidents such as the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old Japanese girl by three American servicemen have prompted calls to shift the U.S. troops away or reduce their numbers.

The latest incident reignited Japanese calls for a renegotiation of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) governing the conduct of U.S. military personnel in Japan.

Under that pact, the United States need not hand over military suspects until they are charged by Japanese prosecutors, but Washington has agreed to give favorable consideration to pre-indictment transfers in cases of suspected rape, murder and other "heinous" crimes.

Torres was handed over on June 18, two days after Japan's formal request.

Japan wants such transfers to be automatic, but Washington is seeking guarantees that suspects' rights will be protected by the Japanese criminal justice system, often criticized by human rights activists. Talks so far have failed to reach an agreement.

The United States is reluctant to revise the SOFA pact because doing so could lead to similar calls for change in other countries where U.S. troops are stationed, such as South Korea.

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