HIROSHIMA, Japan — The Japanese military on Wednesday started deploying its fleet of V-22 Ospreys on a newly opened everlasting base in southwestern Japan, within the nation’s newest transfer to strengthen its protection as tensions within the area develop.
The primary of the fleet of 17 Ospreys arrived at its new house base of Camp Saga, Japan’s Floor Self-Protection Power stated, with the remaining to come back by mid-August.
The transfer is a part of Japan’s accelerating navy buildup, particularly within the southwest, meant as a deterrence to China’s more and more assertive maritime actions within the space.
Japan plans to function the Ospreys extra carefully with the amphibious speedy deployment brigade at Ainoura, within the close by naval city of Sasebo, as a part of the plan to bolster the protection of distant southwestern islands, Protection Minister Gen Nakatani informed reporters Tuesday.
“The safety surroundings surrounding Japan has been more and more extreme, and it’s our urgent activity to strengthen our island protection capabilities,” he stated.
The usage of the V-22 stays controversial in Japan, particularly within the south, attributable to a collection of accidents involving the plane.
Dozens of protesters stood outdoors Camp Saga, chanting, “Get out Osprey!” One in every of them, Osamu Rikihisa, stated, “You by no means know when one other Osprey crashes once more.”
In November 2023, a U.S. Air Power Osprey crashed off Japan’s southern coast, killing eight individuals. In October 2024, a Japanese military V-22 Osprey tilted and hit the bottom whereas making an attempt to take off throughout a joint train with the U.S. navy. An investigation discovered human error to be the trigger.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, in his election marketing campaign speech Wednesday in Saga, stated Ospreys are considerably superior to traditional helicopters and might “bolster Japan’s safety and catastrophe reduction operations.”
