Japan Press Weekly

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2011 August 3 - 16 [US FORCES]

Stop deploying defective Osprey to Futenma base: Akamine

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Akamine Seiken on August 8 in a House Budget Committee meeting pointed out structural defects in the vertical take-off and landing aircraft MV-22 Ospreys and urged the government to not allow the U.S. forces to deploy such faulty aircraft to the Futenma base in Okinawa.

Akamine referred to the fact that during the development process, Osprey aircraft had crashed four times and that after commercial production started in 2005, accidents involving the aircraft, including one that took place in Afghanistan in 2010, were repeatedly reported.

He also said that Osprey lacks an autorotation capability which is essential to enable a safety landing if all engines are inoperative.

Foreign Minister Matsumoto Takeaki said, “The U.S. side explained that the U.S. military uses simulators to provide training in case of an accident in which the Osprey’s two engines stopped. I trust their judgment.”

Akamine criticized the government by saying, “It is unacceptable that the government only repeats what the U.S. government said even though the Osprey’s structural safety problem has become crucial issue in the U.S.”