The U.S. Forces Japan commander on Thursday defended the U.S. handling of the probe into the marine helicopter crash in Okinawa and refusal to allow local police to participate.
The handling of the investigation is "precisely in the confines of the agreement we have with the government of Japan" as well as U.S. security guidelines, Lt. Gen. Thomas Waskow said at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, stressing that the United States fully cooperated with local authorities to secure the crash site.
The Aug. 13 crash of a CH-53D Sea Stallion on the Okinawa International University campus has reignited protests about the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station, which has become surrounded by a populated residential area in Ginowan. The U.S. handling of the accident probe and resumption of CH-53D flights only fueled their anger.