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| Parachute Training from a C-130 (File Photo) |
NAHA -- The U.S. military carried out controversial parachute training at the Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture on Sept. 21 -- an act that contravenes an agreement between the Japanese and U.S. governments.
Under the pact, which was made in 1996, parachute training by the U.S. military is specifically designated to take place at the Ie Shima Airfield on the remote Okinawan island of Iejima, and should only take place at the Kadena Air Base under "exceptional circumstances."
Although the Japanese government was warned about the training in advance on Sept. 15, it later requested that the training be canceled. This is the third time this year that the U.S. military has conducted parachute training at the Kadena Air Base -- much to the displeasure of the Okinawa Prefectural Government and local municipalities, which think that the training went ahead with no regard for the agreement.
Read the full story at The Mainichi