Japan on Dec. 1 expressed unease over the U.S. military’s continued operations of its Osprey transport aircraft, despite Tokyo’s request for a flight suspension in light of the fatal crash in Kyushu.

“We are concerned that flights are being conducted in the absence of an adequate explanation of safety checks,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a news conference.

The U.S. Osprey crashed off Yakushima island in Kagoshima Prefecture on Nov. 29. One crew member was killed and seven others were missing. The body has been handed over to U.S. military officials.

The Japanese government said it asked the U.S. military on Nov. 30 to suspend Osprey flights, except for search and rescue operations, until safety is confirmed with the aircraft.

However, at a news conference on Nov. 30 in Washington, Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon deputy press secretary, said that Ospreys have continued to fly in Japan.

“As far as I know, we have not received any official request (for a flight suspension),” she said.

Matsuno would not comment directly about Singh’s statements, but he said, “Even after the request from our defense minister and foreign minister, we have received information that U.S. Osprey aircraft are still conducting flights.”

Matsuno added, “The Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry will continue to make various approaches to the U.S. side to ensure the safety of the Osprey.”

Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said at a news conference on Dec. 1 that she herself made the request to halt Osprey flights to U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel.

“I just received confirmation from the U.S. Embassy that the request made yesterday (Nov. 30) was an official one,” Kamikawa said.

Local governments and opposition parties have criticized what they say was a belated response from the Japanese government.

But the reality is that Japan has no authority over U.S. military operations, and its requests are nonbinding. The confusion after the crash underscores the fact that Japan often can do nothing except wait for information from the United States concerning such military accidents.

A source close to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, “We have no choice but to make decisions based on the information given by the U.S.”

At the first news conference on the accident on Nov. 29, Hiroyuki Miyazawa, state minister of defense, would not use the word “crashed.” Instead, he said the aircraft had “accidentally landed in the water.”

Miyazawa explained the reason behind his wording.

“The U.S. side has explained to us that the pilot was trying his best to control the aircraft until the very end, and that is why the term ‘emergency water landing’ was used,” he said.

On the evening of Nov. 29, when asked about whether the Japanese government had requested a suspension of U.S. Osprey flights, Kishida showed a cautious attitude.

“This is an issue that should be considered after confirming the actual situation of the accident and examining what is necessary and what is required,” he said.

A senior official at the prime minister’s office also said, “We can’t ask (the U.S.) to halt flights when we don’t know what’s going on.”

In the end, the Defense Ministry asked the U.S. military to suspend flights at 8 a.m. on Nov. 30, more than 17 hours after the crash.

Opposition parties said the request came too late.

Between the time of the accident and 8 a.m. on Nov. 30, a total of 14 takeoffs and landings of U.S. Ospreys were confirmed at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture.

And 20 Osprey takeoffs and landings were confirmed at the Futenma air station and Kadena Air Base between 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on the day after Japan’s request, the Defense Ministry said.

Okinawa Prefecture has long protested the deployment of Osprey at Futenma, given the aircraft’s spotty safety record.

In addition, the Futenma air station is located in a densely populated residential area.

Japan is shifting its defense strategy to focus more on its southwestern islands. As part of that move, Osprey aircraft operated by the Self-Defense Forces flew into Okinawa Prefecture for the first time in October this year for the largest-ever Japan-U.S. joint training exercise.

The Nov. 29 crash has rekindled fears about using the aircraft for operations in Okinawa, Japan’s southernmost prefecture.

“At a stage when the cause of the accident is not clear, I must have serious doubts about using the aircraft,” Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki said in a statement.

The Okinawa prefectural government on Nov. 29 called for a halt to all U.S. Osprey flights.

But Ospreys were seen flying around the Futenma base the following day.

“I can’t believe it is flying today, the day after the crash,” said a woman, 50, on a hill in Ginowan overlooking the air station. “I am scared and angry thinking that it could crash.”