Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine said Thursday his request that flights be suspended at the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station, following the Aug. 13 helicopter crash on a nearby university campus, seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

Inamine made the request at a meeting with Michael Michalak, the U.S. deputy chief of mission, who currently serves as charge d'affaires, at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.

U.S. Ambassador Howard Baker is presently in the United States.