Photo/Illutration Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki on Dec. 7 comments on the U.S. decision to suspend Osprey aircraft flights. (Provided by The Okinawa Times)

Relief and anger were expressed around Japan after the U.S. military on Dec. 6 decided to suspend all flights of its Osprey aircraft around the world.

The decision came a week after a CV-22 Osprey of the U.S. Air Force crashed off Yakushima island in Kagoshima Prefecture, killing all eight crew members aboard.

Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki said the U.S. decision to ground the aircraft came too late.

“When there is a serious accident that causes a loss of life, the ironclad rule is to immediately stop whatever caused the accident and investigate the cause,” he said.

“This decision was, by that ironclad rule, very late. It is safe to say that it was too late,” Tamaki continued. “The U.S. military should be reflecting especially on the fact that they had no choice but to stop the flights as a result.”

The governor also requested further information, including how long the suspension would last.

The U.S. military said it was halting Osprey flights because the root cause of the malfunction that led to the Nov. 29 accident in Kagoshima Prefecture was unknown.

A fisherman in his 40s from the town of Yakushima who witnessed the crash said he was “relieved” to hear about the decision to suspend flights.

But he added: “I have spent a lot of time feeling uneasy. I wanted it to stop immediately.”

The Osprey that crashed was a CV-22 type.

Several MV-22 Osprey of the U.S. Marines and other aircraft were flying around Yakushima for search and rescue operations.

“I hope that the cause of the accident will be investigated and publicized thoroughly,” the fisherman said. “Without that, I don’t want the Osprey to ever fly again.”

Kagoshima Governor Koichi Shiota, who had asked Tokyo to ask Washington to halt Osprey flights after the accident, commented on the U.S. decision in an interview on the afternoon of Dec. 7.

“We believe that the prefecture’s request has been accepted,” he said.

Regarding the one week between the crash and the flight suspension, Shiota said that time “may have been used with a priority on saving lives.”

But he stated, “I hope that a thorough investigation of the cause will be conducted and that detailed information and explanations will be provided.”

In Saga Prefecture, construction of a garrison next to Saga Airport in Saga city is under way. The Ground Self-Defense Force’s fleet of Ospreys will be deployed there.

Saga Governor Yoshinori Yamaguchi told reporters on Dec. 7: “If it was not human error that caused the crash, (the flight suspension) is a natural decision. I would like to request a thorough investigation into the cause and information disclosure.”

Immediately after the Nov. 29 crash, Okinawa Prefecture, which hosts the bulk of U.S. military facilities in Japan, twice called on the central government to ask the U.S. military to halt Osprey flights.

The central government on Nov. 30 made the request to the United States.

However, MV-22 Osprey continued to fly, including at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in the city of Ginowan in Okinawa Prefecture.

The Japanese government expressed concerns, and protests were held by municipal governments in Okinawa Prefecture.

According to the Defense Ministry’s Okinawa Defense Bureau, a total of 108 Osprey takeoffs and landings were confirmed at the Futenma air station and 26 at the U.S. Kadena Air Base between the time of the Nov. 29 accident to around midnight on Dec. 7.

The Okinawa prefectural assembly unanimously passed a letter of opinion and resolution protesting the Osprey flights on Dec. 7.

According to sources, no Osprey flights at the Futenma or Kadena bases were confirmed on the evening of Dec. 7.

(This article was written by Taro Ono, Hayato Kaji and Shohei Okada.)

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