Tokyo — Following an Osprey crash into Japanese seas this week, Tokyo requested that the aircraft be stopped. On Friday, Japan expressed its “concernence” that the U.S. military is still operating Ospreys in the nation.
Seven crew members are still unaccounted for after the collision that occurred in western Japan on Wednesday, leaving at least one dead. There were no fresh leads in the search, the Coast Guard said on Friday.
The japan military asked U.S. soldiers to halt non-emergency flights on Thursday and grounded its own Ospreys “until the circumstances surrounding the accident become clear.”
this country is “concerned that Osprey flights have been conducted despite repeated requests from the Japanese government and without sufficient explanation regarding the confirmation of their flight safety,” according to Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, the top government spokesman, who made the statement on Friday.
On Thursday, the Pentagon said that it had not received any formal request.
At a press conference, spokesman Sabrina Singh said, “At this time, the Ospreys are still operating in Japan,” stressing that the main objective was search and rescue missions.
While the US has stopped operating CV-22 Ospreys like the one that crashed, Matsuno said on Friday that other types were still in service “after thorough and careful maintenance and safety inspections.”
“We will persist in pressuring the U.S. side to verify the flight’s safety prior to carrying out these flights,” said Matsuno.
A request for comment on Friday was not immediately answered by the American Embassy in Japan.
As the first foreign nation to buy and operate the aircraft, this city is a major ally of the United States and has been a controversial user of the American-made Ospreys due to safety concerns.
The hybrid aircraft can fly like a fixed-wing aircraft and can take off, land, and hover like a helicopter.
Since being introduced in 2007, ospreys have been engaged in many mishaps. The pilot and two other people were killed when an Osprey carrying 23 U.S. Marines crashed in Australia in August while conducting a regular training operation.
Reports were provided by Mithil Aggarwal from Hong Kong and Arata Yamamoto from Tokyo.
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