JAPAN

U.S. to station Ospreys at Yokota Air Base starting in 2017

Participants taking part in a tsunami disaster drill unload imitation boxes of relief supplies from an Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft in Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, last October. | KYODO

By Reiji Yoshida
Staff Writer

May 12, 2015

The government formally announced Tuesday the U.S. Air Force will deploy a squadron of tilt-rotor CV-22 Osprey aircraft at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in 2017.

The news immediately drew a chorus of protests from residents of towns and cities in the area.

However, Japanese officials immediately welcomed the announcement and tried to downplay concerns about the controversial plane's safety.

U.S. to station Ospreys at Yokota Air Base starting in 2017

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