June 19 & 20, 2020

Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Miyamoto Toru on June 18 visited the Defense Ministry to demand the suspension of flights of CV-22 Osprey aircraft stationed at the U.S. Yokota Air Base in western suburban Tokyo. This action was made in reaction to the latest part-drop accident involving this type of aircraft.

On the previous day, the Defense Ministry North Kanto Defense Bureau notified municipalities which host the U.S. Yokota Base that a part was found to be missing from a CV-22 during a post-flight inspection at the base. The lost part is a dome-shaped cover of a search light which is 16 centimeters in width, 10 centimeters in height, and 16 centimeters in length, and weighing 450 grams. It is thought to have fallen off the body at some point during the flight.

At the meeting with Defense Ministry officials, Miyamoto demanded more detailed information about the accident, such as where the aircraft in question flew on that day, where in the body the lost part was attached to, and what the part was made of. The ministry officials just repeated that they do not have such information and that they are asking the U.S. side to provide further details.

JCP members in local assemblies of municipalities hosting the U.S. Yokota base, who accompanied Miyamoto, said that the Defense Ministry should not just request the U.S. side for information but also carry out investigations themselves as U.S. military aircraft stationed at the base repeatedly cause part-drop accidents.

Miyamoto pointed out that local residents witnessed CV-22s in flight even after the part was found to be lost. He demanded that CV-22s be grounded until the cause of the accident is determined and measures to prevent a recurrence are implemented.

Past related articles:
> Osprey flights with guns pointing downward toward residential areas increase [July 28, 2019]
> JCP urges gov’t not to allow Osprey deployment to US Yokota base [April 5, 2018]