‘US deploys six Ospreys on Okinawa despite popular protests’
Press TV – October 1, 2012
The US has reportedly deployed six MV-22 Osprey helicopter-plane hybrids on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa in the face of widespread opposition on the part of the Japanese people against the deployment.
On Monday, the aircraft were flown from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in western Japan to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, DPA reported.
Six such aircraft remain in the Iwakuni base. The 12 aircraft had been transferred from the US to Japan in July.
Okinawa has become known as the site of enduring tensions with the US forces deployed there, and hence a lasting source of conflict between Washington and Tokyo. Pacifist inclinations as well as security and safety concerns have prompted the Japanese to protest against the deployment.
On September 9, tens of thousands of people rallied in the country against the prospect.
The Osprey is equipped with rotors that facilitate take-off like a helicopter and engines that can tilt forward, powering it to fly like an airplane at much faster speed than a chopper.
It is considered pivotal to Washington’s ambitions of force realignment in Asia-Pacific, and enables the US marines to fly farther and with bigger loads from Okinawa to remote islands in Japan.
The aircraft, however, has had multiple malfunctions and many accidents since its early years in 1990s. Osprey crashes killed two in Morocco and an entire crew in Florida this year.
Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima has also argued against the Osprey’s safety, and warned that the Futenma base is located in residential areas.
Related articles
- You: Osprey test rides fail to placate opponents (japantimes.co.jp)
- UPDATE2: Osprey to be moved to Okinawa Mon., U.S. tells Japan (english.kyodonews.jp)
- Tens of thousands protest in Okinawa against Osprey deployment (japantimes.co.jp)
- Nakaima pushes to nix Osprey deployment (japantimes.co.jp)
- 100,000 Okinawa islanders tell US to keep ‘unsafe’ Osprey plane away (morningstaronline.co.uk)
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