August 21 & 22, 2014

Amid strong protest from local residents, the U.S. military on August 20 conducted take-off and landing training exercises of its Marine Corps MV-22 Ospreys at Japan’s Self-Defense Forces’ training areas located at the foot of Mt. Fuji, a World Heritage Site.

This is the first time that Osprey flight training drills have taken place at the Ground SDF training grounds in Kita-Fuji (Yamanashi Pref.) and in Higashi-Fuji (Shizuoka Pref.).

A peace group in Yamanashi Prefecture monitored the drills from a hill near the GSDF Kita-Fuji training area. According to the group, one Osprey flew from the U.S. Atsugi Naval base (Kanagawa Pref.) roughly 100 km from Kita-Fuji and repeated take-offs and landings 12 times for one hour from 2 p.m. at the GSDF training field.

A group member said, “Military training drills conducted at the base of Mt. Fuji is totally unacceptable.”

Later on the same day at the GSDF Kita-Fuji exercise field, the U.S. military carried out an Osprey night take-off and landing training drill after 9 p.m. Japan’s Defense Ministry had promised the prefectural and local governments that the SDF and the U.S. forces will avoid carrying out military training exercises after 9 p.m. as much as possible. Local residents are criticizing the Osprey nighttime exercises as a breach of promise.

The Japanese Communist Party Yamanashi Prefectural Committee on the following day made a representation to Governor Yokouchi Shomei demanding that the governor urge the U.S. military to immediately stop all the flight training drills by Ospreys.

Noting the civil group’s monitoring action and media coverage, JCP member of the prefectural assembly Kogoshi Tomoko pointed to the fact that Ospreys were flying over residential areas, major roads, and childcare centers, and that some residents witnessed Ospreys flying at low altitudes. The JCP assemblyperson also said that the aircraft are flying after 9 p.m. in violation of the Defense Ministry’s promise.

A prefectural government official in reply said that the prefecture will request the U.S. military for information about Osprey flight routes and nighttime flight training exercises.

Past related article:
> US Forces to start Osprey flight training in eastern Japan [August 5, 2014]