March 24, 2016

A U.S. soldier accidentally parachuted onto a factory parking lot during parachute training exercises, the Defense Ministry North Kanto Defense Bureau on March 23 made public.

The incident occurred on March 22 at around 11 a.m. A U.S. Army soldier stationed in Okinawa landed on a parking area on the premises of Ushio Electric’s local factory which is located 50 meters away from the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force Higashifuji training field in Shizuoka’s Gotenba City. The soldier took part in parachute training exercises that the U.S. military held at the GSDF training site.

The SDF had notified nearby local governments that three to six U.S. military propeller aircraft will conduct parachuting and airdrop drills for four days from March 21.

Japanese Communist Party member of the Gotenba City Assembly Takagi Masafumi said, “The drill site is right next to a freeway. If a soldier had landed on the freeway, it could have led to disastrous consequences. Potentially dangerous U.S. military drills should be disallowed.”

Past related article:
> US Army copter drops a window [February 19, 2016]