U.S. F-15 fighters flew Monday to the Air Self-Defense Force base in Tsuiki, Fukuoka Prefecture, as part of a bilateral plan to disperse some air exercises from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa to other parts of Japan.
The move, part of the U.S. military realignment plan finalized last May, marks the start of reducing the strain on Okinawa of hosting the bulk of U.S. bases in Japan.
The five F-15 jets that arrived from Kadena were slated to begin a three-day dogfight drill Tuesday with four ASDF F-15s in areas north of Kitakyushu, around the Goto Islands in Nagasaki Prefecture and south of Shikoku, Defense Ministry officials said.