Japanese local assembly urges U.S. to suspend F-15 flight drills

Japan's Okinawa prefectural assembly on Monday urged the U.S. military there to suspend air drills using F-15 fighter jets, after such a plane crashed in the Pacific off Okinawa earlier this month, according to Kyodo News.

The local assembly adopted a resolution, urging the U.S. military to determine the cause of the Jan. 17 crash and to take measures to prevent such incidents.

The resolution also noted that the crash could have caused a disaster because the F-15 crashed into fishing areas.

A F-15 fighter jet, belonging to U.S. Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, crashed into the sea near Ikeijima island in eastern Okinawa on Jan. 17. The pilot ejected and was safely rescued.

Okinawa government officials demanded the suspension of F-15 fighter jet drills on the day of the accident, yet the U.S. military resumed such drills two days later.

A copy of the resolution will be sent to the top U.S. military officer in Okinawa, assembly officials said.

Okinawa, about 1,000 km south of Tokyo, holds the bulk of U.S. military facilities in Japan. Residents there have long complained of crime, noise and crowding associated with the U.S. military presence.

Source: Xinhua