Kyodo
Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima is urging the central to stop the planned deployment of U.S. MV-22 Osprey aircraft at the Futenma air station following recent crashes abroad.
Nakaima told Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba and Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto during separate meetings Tuesday that Okinawa can't allow the United States to deploy the tilt-rotor aircraft at the base until the causes of the accidents are determined.
Opposition in Okinawa to the deployment is running high. Elected officials and residents say they question the safety of stationing the aircraft, which has a history of fatal crashes, at the base in a crowded neighborhood of Ginowan.