Okinawa protests against U.S. forces air-drop practice

The Okinawa Prefectural Assembly on November 11 adopted a unanimous resolution requesting the Japanese and U.S. governments end U.S. special forces' air-drop practice.

On October 25, a transport plane of the U.S. Special Operations Squadron at Kadena Air Base dropped a 60kg-supply pack over Iejima Auxiliary Airport. Without the parachute opening, it landed on just 100 meters away from a farmer working in her fields.

The resolution pointed out that the incident gave Okinawan residents a great shock and distrust of U.S. military's safety standards. It demands the suspension of parachuting practices at Iejima airport until the cause of the incident is investigated fully and a drastic review of the Status of U.S. Forces in Japan Agreement (SOFA) is made. (end)