The United States had mentioned the danger of MV-22 Osprey military aircraft but deleted reference to the aircraft from a 1996 final report on a bilateral agreement to return the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture to Japan, it has been learned.
A list of potential questions and answers on U.S. bases in Okinawa dated Nov. 27, 1996 -- which U.S. forces compiled and shared with Japan's Defense Agency, the predecessor of the Defense Ministry -- mentions 13 points of contention with Osprey vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. The list is among U.S. documents on which University of the Ryukyus professor Masaaki Gabe of international politics compiled a report as part of the achievements of his research subsidized by the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry.
U.S. forces had reportedly considered deploying Ospreys to Okinawa Prefecture since the 1990s.
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