08 August 2017

News Story: Tokyo asks US to refrain from flying Ospreys in Japan following crash off Australia & Kono asks Tillerson to ensure no recurrence of Osprey incident

Tokyo asks US to refrain from flying Ospreys in Japan following crash off Australia

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan has asked the United States to refrain from flying U.S. Marine Corps Osprey aircraft in Japan after one of the tilt-rotor planes crashed off Australia, Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said Sunday.

"We will continue to ask the United States (to refrain from flying Ospreys) until we receive a solid explanation" about the accident, Onodera told reporters after an Osprey crashed off the coast of Shoalwater Bay near Rockhampton in Queensland state Saturday, leaving three U.S. Marines missing.

The crashed Osprey was among the tilt-rotor aircraft deployed at U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Japan's southern island prefecture of Okinawa, where local residents have expressed concern about the safety of the aircraft that have a history of fatal accidents overseas.

Onodera, who assumed his post in a Cabinet reshuffle on Thursday, said Japan also urged Washington to disclose information about the accident, investigate what caused it and take measures to prevent such an accident from happening again.

Read the full story at The Mainichi

--

Kono asks Tillerson to ensure no recurrence of Osprey incident

MANILA (Kyodo) -- Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono asked U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Monday to ensure the safe operation of U.S. Marine Corps Ospreys in Japan after one of the controversial tilt-rotor aircraft crashed off the coast of Australia.

Kono asked the United States to fully investigate the crash, provide Japan with information and prevent further Osprey-related incidents, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said after their brief meeting on the fringes of a series of regional foreign ministerial gatherings in Manila.

The meeting came a day after Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said Tokyo had asked Washington to refrain from flying the tilt-rotor aircraft in Japan.

The Osprey crash off the coast of the state of Queensland Saturday left three U.S. Marines missing. The crashed aircraft was among Ospreys deployed at a U.S. base in Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa.

Read the full story at The Mainichi