Japan slams US for flying Ospreys despite grounding request

Tokyo’s top government spokeswoman stated on Friday that Japan is worried that the U.S. military is still using its V-22 Osprey aircraft despite its request to ground them until their safety is established following a deadly crash this week.

After one of the V-22 Ospreys crashed into the sea on Wednesday in western Japan, Japan, a significant ally of the United States, requested that all non-emergency flights over its country be suspended. The search for the remaining seven people on board is still ongoing, according to Japan’s Coast Guard, after one person was discovered and declared deceased.

On Thursday, the Pentagon announced that it was continuing to fly Ospreys and that it was not aware of any formal requests to halt them. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Hirokazu Matsuno, responded that Tokyo had “officially” made the request when questioned about that assertion.

“We are concerned that despite our repeated requests, and in the absence of sufficient explanation (from the U.S. military), the Osprey continues to fly,” he stated during a news conference.

The Ospreys’ operator, the Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF), has declared that it will cease the transport plane’s operations.

Before any more flights were conducted, Japan’s foreign minister, Yoko Kamikawa, stated that she had personally requested U.S. ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, to vouch for the safety of Osprey flights on Thursday.

The American embassy in Japan declined to react right away.

The use of hybrid aircraft in Japan has generated controversy; opponents of US military presence in the southwest islands claim it increases the risk of accidents.

With its Asian airlift hub, fighter squadrons, U.S. Marine Corps expeditionary force, and the only forward-deployed American carrier strike group, Pacifist Japan is home to the largest concentration of U.S. military strength outside of its borders.

Japan is particularly sensitive to locals’ worries about military operations, which stem from Japan’s defeat in World War II and its subsequent reliance on the United States for security, according to Robert Dujarric, a scholar at Tokyo’s Temple University.

“They think that if it looks like the U.S. and Japan are not sufficiently investigating this, it is going to put problems on deployment because in Japan, unlike what happens in other countries, the local communities have an impact on what type of assets are deployed,” he stated.

The partners have been forming stronger connections in response to China’s more assertive military posture in the area, so Dujarric stated he did not anticipate the issue to “blow up” into a significant diplomatic dispute between them.

(With agency inputs)