Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera and U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh agreed Monday that the U.S. military should release its accident report on a fatal helicopter crash in Okinawa as soon as it has been compiled.
"The people of Okinawa remain worried (about the safety of military operations)," Onodera told Welsh at the Defense Ministry in asking for the quick release of the report. Welsh said the U.S. military will comply.
On Aug. 5, an HH-60G Pave Hawk rescue helicopter crashed in a mountainous area within the premises of Camp Hansen, killing one of the four crew members.
Tokyo has urged Washington to identify the cause of the accident and come up with preventive measures in an apparent bid to keep anti-base sentiment from growing further in Okinawa, which hosts the bulk of the U.S. military bases in Japan.