Japan Press Weekly

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2014 October 15 - 21 [US FORCES]

MV22s show up at prefectural disaster drill

Two MV-22 Osprey aircraft of the U.S. Marine Corps on October 19 took part in a disaster drill hosted by the Wakayama Prefectural government in an area frequented by tourists.

The drill, which was held in a mock response to a massive earthquake and tsunami, apparently took place to have citizens get used to seeing Ospreys flying over mainland Japan and to wipe out a crash-prone impression of the aircraft citizens have.

It was the first time for the vertical takeoff/landing chopper to take part in an emergency drill organized by a local government. About 6,400 people, including 3,150 local residents and 1,500 Japanese Self-Defense Forces personnel participated in the drill.

The downdraft from tilt-rotor aircraft Ospreys would certainly be unsuitable for rescue activities. In fact, the two aircraft were used for transportation of relief supplies and hospital patients, not for rescuing people in imminent danger.

Prior to the drill, the local government requested the U.S. forces in Japan to avoid Osprey flights over residential areas on the day of the drill. The U.S. military responded that it would meet the request.

However, many residents said that they saw one of the two aircraft flying over the hot-spring town of Shirahama where a municipal office and public schools are located before the plane landed at the civilian airport of Nanki-Shirahama.

About 700 local people held a rally near the airport, protesting against the presence of Ospreys operating in the prefecture-hosted disaster drill.