Japan asks US to ground AH-1 helicopters

January 24, 2018

Tokyo- Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said Wednesday his ministry has asked US forces in Japan to ground AH-1 attack helicopters following an emergency landing by one of them in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan.

The ministry asked for emergency checks on all AH-1 helicopters and the suspension of their flights until the checks are completed, Onodera said.

The request was made to Lt. Gen. Jerry Martinez, commander of US forces in Japan, Onodera said.

The minister's comments came after an AH-1 helicopter deployed at the US Marine Corps' Futenma air station in the Okinawa city of Ginowan made an emergency landing on the island of Tonaki Tuesday.

The emergency landing was the third incident in Okinawa this year involving a US military helicopter. In December last year, US military helicopter parts fell onto the ground of an elementary school located next to the Futenma base.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono, speaking to US Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty by phone, said the series of incidents involving US military aircraft in Okinawa are very regrettable.

Kono urged Hagerty to take thorough measures to prevent any repeat of such incidents. Hagerty said preventive steps will be taken in coordination with the US Defense Department.

Speaking to reporters in Naha, Okinawa's capital, Takeshi Onaga, governor of the prefecture, sharply criticized the US military, saying it is "out of control and totally unable to supervise itself."

Despite repeated protests from the prefecture, "there is no sign of an improvement," Onaga said. "This shows that they conduct training irrespective of our protests," he said. Jiji Press