© U.S. Marine Corps
"The U.S. military is out of control. There is no oversight," Onaga said on Wednesday, in the wake of three military helicopters making emergency landings in the space of a month, Kyodo News reports.
Onaga was on his way to Tokyo to meet with the leader of the Komeito party to call for a thorough investigation into the circumstances of an attack helicopter's precautionary landing in Tonaki village on Tuesday, the latest in a series of chopper mishaps to take place in January.
Tuesday's incident represents the second time this month that this type of chopper, the AH-1, has made an unscheduled landing. A helicopter from the Futenma base was forced to make an emergency landing at a waste disposal site near the grounds of a hotel in Yomitan on January 8. Authorities later said the crew saw a warning light about the tail rotor and had to take action as a result.
While just two days earlier, a UH-1 helicopter from the Futenma base had to make an emergency landing on a beach on Ikei Island. The Marine Corps said this was due to "indications of the main rotor moving at too high a speed," Xinhuanet reports.
Onaga called for all US military aircraft to be grounded until emergency checks are made, NHK reports.
Earlier this month, Onaga said the US should "feel ashamed" over its lack of control over its activities in the area. US Defense Secretary James Mattis explained the incidents and apologized, Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters at the time.
Many Okinawa residents are frustrated by the US military presence on their island, due to noise, crime and a series of accidents.
The three helicopter incidents are just the latest in a longer series of serious episodes involving the US military in Japan. In December, a window from a military helicopter fell into a school sports ground near Futenma. In November, a Marine killed a 61-year-old woman in a drunk driving accident. In October, another helicopter burst into flames after it landed in an empty field.
Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said Monday that accidents or incidents involving US military aircraft in Japan more than doubled to 25 cases in 2017, Japan Times reports.
US military aircraft emergencies & incidents over Japan doubled in 2017
Incidents involving US military aircraft over Japan more than doubled in 2017, Tokyo has announced, challenging Washington's claim that due to its "safety first" policy the number of accidents fell last year compared to 2016.
A survey conducted by the Japanese Defense Ministry found that 25 American helicopters and fixed-wing military aircraft had suffered some sort of a mishap in 2017 that forced the US hardware to conduct emergency landings. Twenty-three of the incidents involving US armed forces aircraft stationed in Japan occurred on Japanese territory, while the other two cases occurred just outside the country. At least fourteen of the incidents occurred on Okinawa, whose residents have repeatedly staged mass protests against US military aircraft flying over local schools, endangering youngsters.
The survey also said the number of US-involved accidents more than doubled on the previous year, during which just 11 such cases were registered. "Based on the information we have at hand, they're increasing," Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said Monday after his ministry published its report.
Onodera said the Defense Ministry decided to assess the number and severity of US-involved accidents after he was told by US Pacific Command chief Adm Harry Harris earlier in the month that the number of emergencies had allegedly fallen in 2017.
During Onodera's visit to Hawaii on January 9, Harris boasted how the "safety first" principle of American pilots have reduced the number of accidents over Japan. Harris specifically said the accident rate is "declining" with 23-25 accidents in 2017 compared to more than 30 such accidents in 2016.
Despite Harris' assurances, the Japanese Defense Minister urged the chief of the US Pacific Command to guarantee the safety of residents on Okinawa after two US military helicopters were forced to make emergency landings over Japan this year.
Analyzing the cause of accidents involving US Marine planes and choppers, the American Heritage Foundation in its October 2017 report blamed budget cuts and aging aircraft for hardware failures.
"As of December 31, 2016, only 41 percent of the Marine Corps' fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft were considered flyable," the report said. "The combination of aging aircraft and flight hour reductions can raise the risk of flight accidents attributed to both human and mechanical error."
Okinawa hosts roughly three-quarters of the US troops deployed in Japan, with 30,000 service personnel living and working in bases that occupy about 20 percent of the island's area. Local residents have long protested the bases, which they see as sources of pollution and crime. Faulty military aircraft and crashes are not the only issues provoking public outrage in Okinawa, where American military personnel has been involved in rape and murder scandals. The latest incident occurred in November when a US marine killed an elderly civilian in a drunk-driving accident.
Reader Comments
I knew a lady who was in the army and in Afghanistan etc that wanted to be a lifer, but couldn't take it afte a few years after seeing the disgusting wastefulness, incompetence, and general stupidity. She said the topper was that they were actually MADE to spend money on useless crap instead of important stuff, like their guns and vehicles working. They had to choose something to buy!. So they spent the $20K on flashlights...
All overseas military bases need to be closed. They are just used as convenient stops for the CIA and their drugs, guns and human trafficking.