US-produced tilt-rotor Ospreys safe, minister says
SAGA: Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera insisted yesterday the planned deployment of US-made Osprey tilt-rotor transport aircraft in southwestern Japan poses no safety concerns after he resumed talks with local government officials that were suspended earlier this year following a fatal helicopter crash.
“There are no problems in the safety of Osprey bodies,” Mr Onodera said in a meeting with Saga Gov Yoshinori Yamaguchi while seeking support for the plan to deploy the Self Defence Forces’ aircraft in the prefecture.
The Defence Ministry wants to deploy 17 newly acquired V-22 Ospreys at Saga airport to strengthen Japan’s ability to protect outlying islands amid China’s increasing maritime assertiveness.
But Tokyo has faced difficulty in pushing through the deployment after a GSDF AH-64D attack helicopter crashed into a home in Kanzaki in Saga Prefecture in February.
During the meeting with the governor, Mr Onodera acknowledged the strong concerns among local residents over the deployment and said the ministry will do its best “with sincerity” to win their understanding.
US government data show the rate of severe accidents involving the Marines’ MV-22 Ospreys as of September last year rose about 1.7 times from the figure released in April 2012.
But Defence Ministry officials have claimed that the rising percentage of accidents has nothing to do with the safety of Osprey bodies.
The ministry said the Ground SelfDefence Force, which will operate the aircraft, has no plans to conduct aerial refuelling missions and other operations above Saga Prefecture, as part of safety measures.
With the delivery of the Ospreys expected to start around fall in the United
States, the government is considering sending them tentatively to GSDF Camp Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo as Saga airport is unlikely to be ready for the deployment by then.
Japan is seeking to beef up the defence of its far-flung islands in the southwest, as tensions remain high with China near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.