Japan ‘concerned’ US continues to fly Ospreys despite grounding request.

On Friday, Tokyo’s top government spokesperson stated that Japan is concerned that the United States military is continuing to fly its V-22 Osprey aircraft, even though Japan has requested that the aircraft be grounded until their safety is proven following a deadly accident that occurred this week.

Because a V-22 Osprey crashed into the water on Wednesday in western Japan, Japan, a significant ally of the United States, had requested that all non-emergency V-22 Osprey flights be suspended over its territory. A single individual has been discovered and determined to be deceased, according to the Japan Coast Guard, and the search for the remaining seven individuals onboard is still ongoing.

The Pentagon released a statement on Thursday stating that it was continuing to operate Ospreys for the time being and that it was not aware of any formal request to remove them from service. Research is being done to determine what caused the collision.

In response to a question on such remark, the Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, Hirokazu Matsuno, reported that Tokyo had “officially” made the request.

“We are concerned that despite our repeated requests, and in the absence of sufficient explanation (from the U.S. military), the Osprey continues to fly,” he stated during a press briefing.

According to a statement by the Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF), also responsible for operating Ospreys, transport aircraft operations will be suspended.

Yoko Kamikawa, Japan’s foreign minister, stated that she had directly informed Rahm Emanuel, the United States ambassador to Japan, on Thursday that she had requested confirmation of the safety of Osprey flights before any more flights were carried out.

Immediately, the United States Embassy in Japan declined to comment on the matter.

There has been a lot of controversy around deploying hybrid aircraft in Japan. Those opposed to the presence of the United States military in the Southwest Islands have raised concerns that it is prone to mishaps.

Pacifist Japan is home to the most significant concentration of foreign military strength in the United States. It is the location of the sole forward-deployed American carrier strike group, its Asian airlift base, fighter squadrons, and an expeditionary force of the United States Marine Corps.

Robert Dujarric, a Temple University in Tokyo scholar, stated that Japan was particularly sensitive to its citizens’ worries over military activities. These concerns relate to Japan’s loss in World War II and its subsequent reliance on the United States for security.

“They think that if it looks like the U.S. and Japan are not sufficiently investigating this, it is going to put problems on deployment because in Japan, unlike what happens in other countries, the local communities have an impact on what type of assets are deployed,” said the diplomat.

The problem has been developing more robust connections between the allies and forming closer relations in response to China’s increasingly aggressive military attitude in the region. Dujarric stated that he did not anticipate the matter to “blow up” into a vast diplomatic fight between the partners over the subject.