On 29 November, a "Osprey" transport plane of the US garrison in Japan crashed in the waters near Yakushima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The next day, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara announced that Japan had requested the US military to suspend the use of this type of aircraft.
Despite this, a spokesman for the US Department of Defense said that the US military will continue to operate the "Osprey" transport plane in Japan. According to a report by Japan's Kyodo News Agency, Minoru Kihara mentioned at a meeting of the Senate Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on November 30 that Japan has officially communicated with the United States about the crash, requesting that the "Osprey" transport plane be confirmed to be safe before it can be put back into service. At the same time, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces also announced the suspension of this type of aircraft.
Reuters reported on December 1 that when asked whether the Osprey would be grounded at Japan's request, a spokesman for the US Department of Defense responded that they "have not received relevant instructions from the Department of Defense", so the US military's "Osprey" transport plane in Japan is still flying normally.
The report also pointed out that Minoru Kihara confirmed to ** the news that the US military continued to use the "Osprey", and said that as of 3:30 p.m. local time on November 30, relevant Japanese departments observed about 20 take-offs and landings of the "Osprey" transport plane near the US military base in Japan.
Previous reports also mentioned that the "Osprey" transport plane involved in the accident belonged to the 353rd Special Operations Flight Regiment of the US Army. The plane was scheduled to depart from the Iwakuni base in Yamaguchi Prefecture on November 29 and fly to the Kadena base, but changed plans on the way and flew to Yakushima Airport instead. Of the eight people on board the crashed Osprey, one has been confirmed dead, and the search and rescue of the remaining missing persons is still ongoing.