Diplomatic sources say Myanmar's military has released a Japanese businessman, who was sentenced to one year in prison for breaching controls on rice prices.

Kasamatsu Hiroshi is the chief of the merchandise division at supermarket operator Aeon Orange, a local unit of Japanese retail giant Aeon.

He was detained by police in Yangon in June for allegedly selling rice at prices higher than levels set by the military. He was indicted for violating the pricing rules.

A court had handed down Kasamatsu's prison sentence on Monday.