Photo/Illutration U.S. and Japanese troops work together to unload relief supplies from a U.S. helicopter in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 17. (Tetsuro Takehana)

U.S. military forces stationed in Japan started transporting relief supplies to areas devastated by the earthquake and tsunami in Ishikawa Prefecture.

Using the Komatsu Air Base of Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force in the prefecture, the U.S. military brought emergency supplies to Noto Airport via helicopter on Jan. 17.

“We’ve made the request for U.S. cooperation to avoid any interruption in supply transportation that has been carried out by the SDF,” Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said on Jan. 16.

SDF personnel have become increasingly tasked with relocating quake evacuees from local shelters to safer, more comfortable accommodations outside the disaster zone.

Since the magnitude-7.6 quake hit the region on New Year’s Day, the Japanese government had not accepted any assistance offered from other countries, citing a lack of preparations for such cross-border efforts.

“The U.S. military has self-contained transportation capabilities ready to operate in Japan, requiring minimal logistical support from us,” Kihara said.

He added that the U.S. forces have helicopters already stationed in Japan and that they regularly cooperate with the SDF.

The U.S. military provided disaster relief in the Tohoku region after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami under Operation Tomodachi.

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