Japan Press Weekly

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2013 September 4 - 10 [US FORCES]

JCP protests against forcible landing of US military helicopters at civil airport

In protest against the forcible landing of U.S. military choppers at a civil airport on Tokunoshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japanese Communist Party representatives on September 3 requested that the prefectural government urge the state and the U.S. military to take preventive measures.

According to the prefecture, at 7 pm of August 28, six U.S. military helicopters landed at Tokunoshima Airport (Amagi Town, Kagoshima Pref.) for the purpose of refueling without the prior notice required by the Kagoshima prefectural ordinance. Because the six aircraft arrived after business hours, the airport’s fueling station was unavailable, and U.S. soldiers of the aircraft camped overnight inside the airport premises. On the next morning, the six helicopters were refueled and left the airport.

Following the incident, the prefectural government warned the U.S. forces to fully comply with the rules regarding prior notice. The U.S. military argued that the incident should not be regarded as an act in violation of the ordinance because landing at civilian airports for refueling is a kind of emergency.

JCP member of the Kagoshima Prefectural Assembly Matsuzaki Makoto pointed out that allowing the landing without prior notice sets an extremely dangerous precedent and again requested the prefecture to work on preventing this in future.