US Osprey uproar: Japanese citizens rally against flights resumption
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The protests underscore the concerns and apprehensions of the Japanese populace regarding the safety record of Osprey aircraft.
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US MV-22B Osprey transport aircraft are parked in the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, south of Okinawa, southern Japan, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (AP)
Japanese citizens took to the streets in a rallying protest at Chiba Prefecture to protest against the resumption of Osprey flights by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) at its base in Kisarazu.
This marked the first flight of the Osprey aircraft at the Kisarazu base in over three months since a US Osprey aircraft carrying eight people crashed off Japan's southwestern island of Yakushima in Kagoshima Prefecture on November 29 last year.
The tilt-rotor Osprey aircraft, which can fly both like a helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft, has a track record of accidents and mishaps both in Japan and abroad.
In August, a US Osprey crashed off the coast of northern Australia, killing three crew members. Another crash landed in the ocean off Japan's southern island of Okinawa in December 2016.
The rally underscored the concerns and apprehensions of the Japanese populace regarding the safety record of Osprey aircraft. Furthermore, it reflected a broader sentiment of discontent and distrust toward the US military presence and operations in Japan.
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Last week, officials announced that the US and Japanese militaries would recommence flights of Osprey aircraft in Japan after conducting required maintenance and training in the wake of a deadly crash in southern Japan last November.
It is worth noting that the US military lifted the Osprey flight ban on March 8 yet refrained from publicly revealing the accident's cause, leading to considerable outrage among Japanese locals.
"While they claim there's nothing wrong with the design or structure, but I find it pretty hard to believe. In the past, the accidents were attributed to human error such as operational mistakes. However, this time they said that there are problems with a specific part in a specific place of the aircraft without saying what they are," said a protester named Yugo Yoshida as quoted by Reuters.
"It's unacceptable that they approved the resumption of flights, even for testing purposes, without explaining the reasons to the citizens and residents of the area. I find it difficult to accept and cannot understand the Japanese government's peculiar practice of unquestioningly following the commands of the United States," said another protester named Shigeru Kuzuhara as quoted by Reuters.
Another Japanese citizen who preferred to remain anonymous told Reuters, "The noise from the Osprey during flight is seriously loud. With the Osprey grounded for nearly four months this time, I found that it is so quiet without the aircraft buzzing overhead."
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