A court in Myanmar has sentenced a Japanese businessman to one year in prison for selling rice at prices higher than levels set by the military.

The Japanese embassy in Myanmar and other sources say the court in Yangon handed down the sentence to Kasamatsu Hiroshi on Monday.

Kasamatsu 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, and later charged with violating pricing rules.

The embassy has been lobbying authorities to release him as soon as possible, and says it will continue to do so.

Myanmar's economy has been sluggish since the military seized power in a coup three years ago.

To rein in inflation for food and medicine, the military has fixed prices and detained people who have allegedly violated the rules.