US-Japan Relations: Okinawa Village To Lodge Complaint After US Bell UH-1Y Venom Chopper Incident

Residents of a village in Japan’s Okinawa are expected to lodge a complaint with the U.S. military after a Marine Corps chopper dropped a tire during external cargo lift training Wednesday, Stars and Stripes reported Thursday.

The helicopter — a Bell UH-1Y Venom — was lifting tires during the training one fell near a landing zone in a U.S. military training area within Okinawa’s Central Training Area, the report said, citing the Marine Corps. The incident, for which an investigation is underway, did not result in any injuries or damage to houses or businesses in the area, the Marine Corps added.

“The Marine Corps conducts external lift training exclusively over nonresidential areas, within designated training locations,” a Marine Corps spokesman said, according to Stars and Stripes. “This training is essential for Marine Corps pilots to execute missions such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.”

However, authorities in Okinawa’s Ginoza village want the training to be moved.

“We have repeatedly asked the military to avoid using landing zones that are close to residential areas,” a spokesman of the village said, according to the report. “The closest home to the landing zone is only about 330 yard away.”

“Once again, we ask the military to heed fear and anxiety of residents and conduct the training at the facilities that are farther into the mountain side,” the spokesman reportedly said, adding that the lift exercise was halted between Dec. 9, 2016, and Feb. 23 after complaints about U.S. choppers carried external cargo over the area.

The training resumed after the Marine Corps notified Okinawa’s defense bureau. According to the Marine Corps, the training is helpful for pilots of Venom helicopters to lift water buckets during firefighting missions.

About 50,000 U.S. nationals — including 30,000 military personnel — stay in Okinawa. Residents there have been critical about the presence of U.S. troops and its military installations, accusing them of accidents, crime and pollution.

Last month, the Naha district court awarded $267 million to 22,000 residents living near the Kadena base. However, the plaintiffs’ request to ban late night and early morning flights was denied.