The July 23 arrival of MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor transport aircraft at U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture and plans to deploy them this fall to Okinawa have fueled stiff opposition from local governments nationwide.
Washington and Tokyo see the deployment of the aircraft, which hovers like a helicopter and flies like an airplane, as necessary to carry out America's obligations under the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty.
But for local governments, the way Tokyo is handling the issue is a symptom of deeper problems with the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement, the legal framework U.S. military personnel operate under within Japan.