Amidst concerns over the safety of the U.S. military’s V-22 Osprey aircraft, Japan has expressed unease as the aircraft continues to fly despite Tokyo’s request to ground them following a fatal crash earlier this week, the top government spokesperson stated on Friday.
As a crucial U.S. ally, Japan had urged for the suspension of all non-emergency V-22 Osprey flights over its territory after one crashed into the sea on Wednesday in western Japan. The Coast Guard confirmed one fatality and the search for the remaining seven aboard is ongoing.
Despite Japan’s request, the Pentagon announced on Thursday that Ospreys were still operational and that no official grounding request had been received. The cause of the crash is currently under investigation.
Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Hirokazu Matsuno, emphasized Tokyo’s “official” request for the grounding and expressed concern over the continued flights of the Osprey without adequate explanation from the U.S. military.
The Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF) has decided to suspend the operation of the Ospreys, and Japan’s foreign minister, Yoko Kamikawa, directly addressed U.S. ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel on Thursday, seeking confirmation of the aircraft’s safety before any further flights.
There was no immediate comment from the U.S. embassy in Japan regarding the situation.
The deployment of the hybrid aircraft in Japan has been a contentious issue, with opponents of the U.S. military presence in the southwest islands expressing concerns over the aircraft’s accident-prone nature.
As the host to the largest overseas concentration of U.S. military power, Japan accommodates the only forward-deployed American carrier strike group, its Asian airlift hub, fighter squadrons, and a U.S. Marine Corps expeditionary force.
Robert Dujarric, a scholar at Tokyo’s Temple University, highlighted Japan’s sensitivity to the concerns of local residents regarding military operations, stemming from the country’s dependence on the U.S. for security following its defeat in World War II.
He explained, “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.”
Despite the unease, Dujarric does not foresee the issue escalating into a major diplomatic dispute between the allies, as they have been strengthening their relations in response to China’s growing military assertiveness in the region.
© Thomson Reuters 2023.
