Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine asked Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday to review the Japanese-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement and reduce the size of U.S. forces based in Okinawa.

At their meeting at the Prime Minister's Official Residence, Inamine also asked Koizumi to urge the United States to strengthen discipline so that incidents involving U.S. service members will not recur.

These requests, noted in a letter submitted to Koizumi, were made after a series of recent mishaps, including the Aug. 21 crash of an F-15 fighter plane into the sea while on a training mission 100 km off the main island of Okinawa.

Inamine also asked Koizumi in the letter to halt flights of F-15s until the U.S. military takes preventive steps.

Koizumi told Inamine he will consider what he can do to fulfill the demands.

The government meanwhile said Monday it will hold the first meeting of local leaders in Okinawa, including Inamine, and Koji Omi, state minister in charge of Okinawa issues, on Sept. 10 in order to discuss how to use land now occupied by Futenma Air Station after the base there is relocated.

The talks will also focus on studying the environment and investigating buried cultural properties, it said.

F-15s resume drills

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. (Kyodo) The U.S. Air Force at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa resumed F-15 fighter drills Monday morning, according to base officials.

The drills were halted after an F-15 crashed into the sea Wednesday while on a training mission about 100 km south of the main island of Okinawa.

Training flights were temporarily halted for the Bon holiday last week as well as to carry out inspections, U.S. officials said.

According to the base, flights were not resumed until overhaul and maintenance inspections on the F-15s had been completed. The officials said the safety of local residents is of top priority.

The drills were resumed despite requests from the Okinawa Prefectural Government and the municipality of Kadena to halt all F-15 flights until a probe into the accident is completed.

There have been a number of mishaps involving U.S. forces in Okinawa recently, including five aircraft-related incidents in April and May. In one, a fighter jet made an emergency landing at a base. Earlier this month, a helicopter made an emergency landing on private land.

Also on Monday, the Kadena Municipal Assembly in Okinawa passed a unanimous resolution at an extraordinary session protesting the F-15 accident.

The resolution says the accident is unacceptable and criticizes the U.S. forces for neglecting flight safety since drills were intensified after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Local assembly members are asking the U.S. military to halt all F-15 flights until a probe into the cause of the accident is completed, and are demanding that the F-15 wing be removed from Okinawa.

The resolution also criticizes the U.S. military for making little improvement regarding a series of F-15 mishaps since April, despite calls from the town assembly to release investigation results and develop policies to prevent further incidents.