The emergency landing by a U.S. military Osprey aircraft on Tuesday in Oita Prefecture was the result of precautionary measures being taken against possible instrument malfunction, Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said Wednesday.
Tuesday's incident at Oita Airport, which caused no injuries, is the latest in a series of emergency landings and crashes involving the tilt-rotor aircraft in and outside of Japan that have further stoked safety concerns.
Earlier in the month, an Osprey crashed off the eastern coast of Australia, killing three U.S. Marines.