Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera on Monday sought to persuade the Okinawa Prefectural Government to permit Osprey flights despite strong local concern about the aircraft's safety following the fatal crash off Australia on Aug. 5.
The tilt-rotor transport aircraft is "very important for our country's security," Onodera told Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga on his first visit to the prefecture, which hosts the bulk of U.S. military facilities in Japan, since assuming his post on Aug. 3.
Onaga criticized the central government for endorsing the U.S. military's decision that the MV-22 Osprey is safe enough to fly, just six days after the accident.