Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2015 August 26 - September 1 [US FORCES]

Okinawa assemblypersons protest drill resumption of US MH-60 chopper flights

In protest against the U.S. military’s resumption of flight training exercises of the same type helicopters as the one which recently caused a crash accident, representatives of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly visited the Defense Ministry’s local bureau on August 25, urging it to demand an immediate halt to the drills.

During the special operation exercises off the main island of Okinawa on August 12, a U.S. MH-60 helicopter failed to land on the deck of a transport vessel and crashed, injuring seven servicepersons on board, including two members of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces. In defiance of strong local protests, the U.S. forces resumed the flight drills of MH-60s on August 18.

The representatives handed to the bureau chief a resolution unanimously adopted by the prefectural assembly which calls for suspension of flights of MH-60s until the cause of the crash is determined and proper prevention measures are in place.

The chief said in response that the bureau will inform the prefectural authorities as soon as it receives any information about the accident from the U.S. military.

Japanese Communist Party assemblyperson Kayo Sogi said, “Every time we came here to lodge a protest over accidents involving the U.S. military, Japan’s defense authorities speak for the U.S. As an organ of a sovereign state, the defense bureau should carry out an on-site investigation into the crash and report its findings to local authorities and people.”

On the same day, the assembly members also made representations to the Foreign Ministry’s Okinawa office and the U.S. Consulate General in Okinawa.

Past related article:
> Okinawa Prefectural Assembly’s committee protests against US helicopter crash [August 15, 2015]