Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera put the rest of Japan on notice by announcing that flight training involving controversial U.S. military Osprey aircraft will become commonplace across the nation.
“Drills (using Ospreys) will be conducted in the main island of Honshu to ease the burden on Okinawa,” Onodera said, adding that a nationwide effort is required to reduce the heavy role Okinawa shoulders in hosting the bulk of U.S. military bases in Japan.
Onodera's comment came on the day an MV-22 Osprey aircraft deployed to the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, in 2012 arrived at Camp Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture following a refueling stop at Atsugi base in Kanagawa Prefecture on July 15.
It was the first time the transport aircraft had flown to a base in eastern Japan, according to the Defense Ministry.
Flight training using Osprey aircraft is expected to begin in earnest across Japan.
The tilt-rotor Osprey aircraft left Futenma around noon on July 15 and, after flying over the residential area, landed at the U.S. Naval Air Facility Atsugi around 3:25 p.m. It made a one-hour stop for refueling and then headed for Camp Fuji.
It is expected to return to Futenma on July 18.
U.S. forces told the Defense Ministry that the flight was for transporting personnel.
Citizens groups staged protest rallies around Atsugi base and Camp Fuji.
Two other Ospreys are to be displayed at an aviation event at the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces Okadama camp in Sapporo on July 20. They will stop over at Yokota base in Tokyo to refuel.
Asked why the U.S. military is expanding the scope of its activities, officials only noted that Ospreys are supposed to operate at all U.S. bases in Japan under the terms of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.
In fact, a U.S. Marine Corps report released in June 2012 showed plans for low-level flight training at six routes across the country as well as regular flights to Camp Fuji.
While the U.S. side has not clarified details of past drills, Defense Ministry officials said there clearly had been almost no training, given the lack of noise complaints from residents.
Tetsuo Maeda, a noted military critic, suggested that the Osprey flight on July 15 was simply a strategic move to begin training in earnest over the mainland.
“Since the time of the deployment, training based at sites on the mainland, such as Iwakuni (in Yamaguchi Prefecture) and Camp Fuji, was considered. This is now fait accompli, so training over the mainland is set to start. The latest flight was just a preview for that.”
Osprey drills now planned at bases across Japan - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun
“Drills (using Ospreys) will be conducted in the main island of Honshu to ease the burden on Okinawa,” Onodera said, adding that a nationwide effort is required to reduce the heavy role Okinawa shoulders in hosting the bulk of U.S. military bases in Japan.
Onodera's comment came on the day an MV-22 Osprey aircraft deployed to the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, in 2012 arrived at Camp Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture following a refueling stop at Atsugi base in Kanagawa Prefecture on July 15.
It was the first time the transport aircraft had flown to a base in eastern Japan, according to the Defense Ministry.
Flight training using Osprey aircraft is expected to begin in earnest across Japan.
The tilt-rotor Osprey aircraft left Futenma around noon on July 15 and, after flying over the residential area, landed at the U.S. Naval Air Facility Atsugi around 3:25 p.m. It made a one-hour stop for refueling and then headed for Camp Fuji.
It is expected to return to Futenma on July 18.
U.S. forces told the Defense Ministry that the flight was for transporting personnel.
Citizens groups staged protest rallies around Atsugi base and Camp Fuji.
Two other Ospreys are to be displayed at an aviation event at the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces Okadama camp in Sapporo on July 20. They will stop over at Yokota base in Tokyo to refuel.
Asked why the U.S. military is expanding the scope of its activities, officials only noted that Ospreys are supposed to operate at all U.S. bases in Japan under the terms of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.
In fact, a U.S. Marine Corps report released in June 2012 showed plans for low-level flight training at six routes across the country as well as regular flights to Camp Fuji.
While the U.S. side has not clarified details of past drills, Defense Ministry officials said there clearly had been almost no training, given the lack of noise complaints from residents.
Tetsuo Maeda, a noted military critic, suggested that the Osprey flight on July 15 was simply a strategic move to begin training in earnest over the mainland.
“Since the time of the deployment, training based at sites on the mainland, such as Iwakuni (in Yamaguchi Prefecture) and Camp Fuji, was considered. This is now fait accompli, so training over the mainland is set to start. The latest flight was just a preview for that.”
Osprey drills now planned at bases across Japan - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun
