December 7 and 8, 2018

A U.S. fighter jet and a U.S. aerial refueling aircraft at 2 a.m. on December 6 collided with each other and crashed into the sea 100 km off the coast of Kochi Prefecture, according to Japan’s Defense Ministry.

The two aircraft (an FA-18D Hornet fighter and a KC-130 aerial tanker) were stationed at the U.S. Iwakuni base in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Just last month, another Iwakuni-stationed aircraft, an FA-18F, crashed into the sea off Okinawa where a fatal crash of an FA-18E occurred in December 2016.

Asked by the press for a comment on the latest accident, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on December 6 in the Diet building stressed the need for thorough investigations into the crash. In base-hosting Iwakuni City, Mayor Fukuda Yoshihiko said to the press that due to frequent occurrence of U.S. military aircraft-related accidents, local residents are increasingly concerned about their safety.

On the following day in Kochi, opposition parties, including the JCP, and concerned citizens jointly held a protest action in response to the crash near the prefectural government office building. Matsumoto Kenji, a JCP candidate for a Lower House seat, took the microphone and told passersby that as Prime Minister Abe Shinzo always claims that he will protect people’s lives and properties, he should urge the U.S. military to suspend flight training drills.

Past related articles:
> US carrier-based airplane crashes into sea off Okinawa [November 13, 2018]
> Civic group protests against crash of US military aircraft [December 8&9, 2016]