US soldier charged with rape

Japanese prosecutors have charged an American soldier with raping a woman on Okinawa Island in a case that has strained relations between Japan and the US.

24-year-old staff sergeant Timothy Woodland was arrested on July 6th on suspicion of raping the 20-year-old woman in a car park outside a row of bars.

He has denied the allegations.

The United States angered Okinawa residents by waiting four days to turn Woodland over to local police for questioning.