April 11 and 12, 2018
A part of a U.S. military parachute on April 10 fell onto the premise of a public junior high school in suburban Tokyo during the U.S. military’s parachute landing exercises.
The school is located 500 meters northwest of the U.S. Yokota base. The fallen object was found in a tennis court by students. Between the school and the base, there are busy roads, railroad lines, and densely-populated areas.
The U.S. military explained that during the parachuting drills, one of the jumpers noticed something irregular in the air and detached a part of the parachute.
Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Miyamoto Toru on April 11 at a House of Representatives Transport Committee meeting took up the incident and said that a parachute jump exercise is not something that should be carried out over residential areas.
State Minister of Defense Yamamoto Tomohiro in reply said that the ministry was informed by the U.S military that it regrets having caused the mishap and will refrain from conducting parachute landing drills near the Yokota base until the cause of the accident is determined. JCP Miyamoto stressed that a similar accident occurred one week earlier in Okinawa and that such exercises should be halted all across Japan.
The JCP Tokyo Metropolitan Assemblymembers’ Group on April 11 made representations to the metropolitan government, demanding that it urge the U.S. military to make public the cause of the accident and to suspend the parachuting drills. The JCP assemblypersons claimed that the U.S. military’s reckless drills can bring about an accident at any time and that the metropolitan government should exert efforts to protect Tokyoites’ lives and safety.
The Tokyo Metropolitan government and governments of six municipalities near the Yokota base on the same day submitted to the Yokota base and the local bureau of the Japanese Defense Ministry a request that the parachute drop drills be halted until the cause of the accident is determined and preventive measures are implemented.
Past related articles:
> US parachute drills in Okinawa deepens local fishermen’s anxiety [January 21, 2018]
The school is located 500 meters northwest of the U.S. Yokota base. The fallen object was found in a tennis court by students. Between the school and the base, there are busy roads, railroad lines, and densely-populated areas.
The U.S. military explained that during the parachuting drills, one of the jumpers noticed something irregular in the air and detached a part of the parachute.
Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Miyamoto Toru on April 11 at a House of Representatives Transport Committee meeting took up the incident and said that a parachute jump exercise is not something that should be carried out over residential areas.
State Minister of Defense Yamamoto Tomohiro in reply said that the ministry was informed by the U.S military that it regrets having caused the mishap and will refrain from conducting parachute landing drills near the Yokota base until the cause of the accident is determined. JCP Miyamoto stressed that a similar accident occurred one week earlier in Okinawa and that such exercises should be halted all across Japan.
The JCP Tokyo Metropolitan Assemblymembers’ Group on April 11 made representations to the metropolitan government, demanding that it urge the U.S. military to make public the cause of the accident and to suspend the parachuting drills. The JCP assemblypersons claimed that the U.S. military’s reckless drills can bring about an accident at any time and that the metropolitan government should exert efforts to protect Tokyoites’ lives and safety.
The Tokyo Metropolitan government and governments of six municipalities near the Yokota base on the same day submitted to the Yokota base and the local bureau of the Japanese Defense Ministry a request that the parachute drop drills be halted until the cause of the accident is determined and preventive measures are implemented.
Past related articles:
> US parachute drills in Okinawa deepens local fishermen’s anxiety [January 21, 2018]
