The Air Self-Defense Force on Friday kicked up a local controversy by asking the mayor here to let it resume lunchtime flight training in the area, an activity that has been suspended for 27 years.
Shigemichi Saeki, head of the Osaka Regional Defense Facilities Administration Bureau, handed a letter containing the request to Mayor Toru Nishimura at Komatsu City Hall.
Base officials say they need to restart training between noon and 1 p.m. because the facility, which doubles as a civilian airport, is congested. They argue that the number of commercial departures and arrivals at Komatsu airport has quadrupled since 1975, and unless the ASDF resumes training during lunch hour, the risk of collisions between military and civilian aircraft will rise.
The base is also considering lifting a self-imposed ban on formation flights over downtown areas, which usually involves flying in pairs, because, officials claim, noise from the planes has been squelched by the introduction of F-15 fighters.