While the Japanese public was closely following the campaigning for the July 20 Upper House election and then speculating about future coalition governments after the results were known, two precautionary landings by the U.S. Air Force’s V-22 Ospreys were quietly and professionally conducted at civilian airports in northern Honshu in the space of one week.
The first precautionary landing was at Odate‑Noshiro Airport in Akita on July 18 and the second at Iwate’s Hanamaki Airport on July 24. On both occasions, no damage or injuries were reported and commercial air traffic proceeded uninterrupted.
Japan’s political left, such as the Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party, was quick to complain about the events. Yet the two precautionary landings signal safety, rather than alarm.
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