Defense Chief Seeks Saga Pref. Support for Osprey Deployment

July 23, 2018

Saga- Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera on Monday sought the cooperation of Saga Prefecture on the planned deployment of Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft at Saga Airport.

Onodera visited Saga Governor Yoshinori Yamaguchi at the prefectural government's office to make the request after giving explanations about the aircraft's safety.

Yamaguchi replied to Onodera, "Please let us examine and confirm safety."

Talks about the deployment of Ospreys between the Defense Ministry and Saga Prefecture have been suspended since the crash of a Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter in Kanzaki in the southwestern prefecture in February.

Onodera apparently hopes the latest meeting with Yamaguchi will offer an opportunity to resume the talks with the prefecture.

The defense minister stressed that Ospreys have no airframe problems, referring to recent accidents involving Ospreys operated by the U.S. military.

On the GSDF helicopter crash, Onodera explained that there would be no transfer of the model to the airport until preventive measures are established.

The ministry plans to introduce 17 Ospreys in stages at the airport over the four years from fiscal 2018.

But negotiations over the acquisition of a planned deployment site are in a stalemate.

The ministry is considering temporarily deploying the five Ospreys to be delivered in fiscal 2018 at the GSDF's Camp Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo. Jiji Press