Japan’s Okinawa drops opposition to hosting crash-prone US Osprey aircraft

Okinawa Governor Genta Koja said on Friday he accepts the deployment of US military MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft at the Futenma air station, reversing the southern Japan prefecture’s long-standing opposition to their presence.

Previous prefectural governments, under governors critical of US bases, had opposed the deployment of the tilt-rotor aircraft since before they were first stationed at the base in 2012, citing safety concerns. Koja assumed the post of Okinawa governor late last month.

“More than 10 years have passed since the deployment. Considering that the Self-Defence Forces operate the aircraft, it is not realistic to call for a reversal of their deployment or use,” Koja told reporters at the prefectural government office.

In a break from his predecessors, Koja, who won the gubernatorial election backed by Japan Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, supports the plan to relocate US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in densely populated Ginowan to the coastal Henoko area in Nago within Okinawa.

Koja said his acceptance of the Osprey deployment is in line with his support for the relocation plan, which will see the aircraft transferred to Henoko.

Ospreys, capable of taking off and landing like a helicopter but also cruising like a fixed-wing plane, have a track record of accidents both in Japan and abroad.

Koja, meanwhile, said that concerns about the Osprey’s safety have not been dispelled. “I want the safety of the aircraft to be thoroughly confirmed,” he said.

In November 2023, a US Air Force CV-22 crashed into the sea near Yakushima Island in Kagoshima prefecture in southwestern Japan, killing all eight crew members.

In December 2016, an MV-22 belonging to the Futenma base crash-landed off Nago.