Japan Press Weekly

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2013 July 31 - August 13 [US FORCES]

Okinawa Prefectural Assembly protests against US chopper crash

The Okinawa Prefectural Assembly on August 12 unanimously adopted a protest resolution against the crash of a U.S. HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter, which occurred on August 5 at Camp Hansen in Okinawa.

Citing the 2004 crash of a U.S. CH-53D helicopter on the campus of Okinawa International University and this year’s F-15 fighter crash in the ocean close to the main island of Okinawa, the resolution criticizes the U.S. Forces for resuming the additional delivery of Osprey transport aircraft into the prefecture without dispelling residents’ concerns over the latest accident. “We cannot tolerate such unilateral action taken by the U.S. Forces which take no notice of the lives and properties of local people,” it states.

Following the adoption of the resolution, members of the assembly’s special committee on U.S. bases, including Japanese Communist Party assemblypersons, made strong representations to the U.S. Consulate General in Okinawa, the Okinawa Office of the Foreign Ministry, and the Okinawa Defense Bureau.

At the Okinawa Defense Bureau, JCP assemblyman Kayo Sogi condemned the U.S. military for restarting the additional deployment of the controversial aircraft to Okinawa on that day, which had been suspended for a week after the crash. “Okinawans are always concerned that Ospreys may crash where they live and work at any time. The Japanese and American governments should cancel the deployment program immediately,” he stressed.