Photo/Illutration The U.S. Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo (Takeshi Iwashita)

Officials in Fussa, western Tokyo, lodged a protest with the U.S. military on Dec. 9 after equipment from a parachute training exercise fell onto a local children’s center and was later retrieved without permission.

According to the city and the Defense Ministry, the incident occurred on Nov. 20 when a main parachute and related gear separated during a training exercise at Yokota Air Base, located about 100 meters from the child care facility.

A soldier attempted to land at the base using a reserve parachute, while the main parachute drifted off course and dropped onto the children’s center. No injuries were reported.

That same night, U.S. personnel entered the premises without notifying the city and recovered the parachute.

A smaller pilot chute, which deploys the main parachute and weighs less than 1 kilogram,  remained on the roof and was discovered by staff on Dec. 1.

The ministry has conveyed regret and strong concern to the U.S. side, citing the lack of communication and unauthorized entry into the public facility.

The incident followed another mishap on Nov. 18, when a U.S. paratrooper landed in the yard of a private home in neighboring city of Hamura, prompting protests from the Tokyo metropolitan government and surrounding municipalities.

Training was briefly suspended but resumed on Nov. 20, the same day as the Fussa incident.

(This article was written by Harufumi Mori and Kohei Uwabo.)

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