V-22 Osprey ikke populær i Japan

U.S. Marines send 2 Osprey aircraft to Sapporo amid local protests

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The U.S. Marine Corps on Saturday sent two of its MV-22 Osprey aircraft from a base in western Japan to Sapporo, via a stop at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo, for a weekend air show.

© Kyodo

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The U.S. Marine Corps sends two of its MV-22 Osprey aircraft from a base in western Japan to Sapporo, via a stop at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo on July 19. © Kyodo

     It was the first time for an MV-22 to fly to the Tokyo area since the tilt-rotor aircraft's deployment in Japan in 2012. Osprey flights have often been met with local opposition due to a number of high-profile accidents prior to the plane's deployment to Japan.

     The two aircraft left the U.S. base in Iwakuni in the western prefecture of Yamaguchi on Saturday morning and landed at the Yokota base, apparently for refueling.

     The Sapporo municipal government in Hokkaido has requested the organizer of the air show at a Ground Self-Defense Force camp in the city to stop the MV-22s' arrival due to safety concerns among local residents. Hundreds of people staged a rally in Sapporo on Friday against the visit by the aircraft.

     A total of 24 MV-22s have been deployed at the Marines' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa. The two MV-22s will leave Sapporo on Monday.