Japan and the United States are considering using U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey aircraft in a joint disaster drill planned for October, government officials said Tuesday.
The drill, which will simulate the response to a powerful earthquake, also appears to be aimed at easing lingering local opposition to the Osprey by focusing on the transport aircraft's usefulness in the event of a disaster, political observers say.
The exercise involving the Self-Defense Forces and U.S. forces is the first of its kind organized by the SDF and is based on a scenario of an earthquake centered on the Nankai Trough off central and western Japan, the officials said.