TOKYO, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Japan and the United States will start a joint air drill on Tuesday in southern Japan, Kyodo News said Monday.

    Five U.S. F-15 jets from U.S. Kadena base, Okinawa arrived at a Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) base in Tsuiki, Fukuoka prefecture on Monday, getting ready for a three-day dogfight with four F-15s from the ASDF, it said.

    As part of the U.S. military realignment package Washington and Tokyo agreed in May 2006, the two nations have decided to move some noisy fighter exercises from U.S. bases in Kadena plus Misawa, Aomori prefecture, and Iwakuni, Yamaguchi prefecture, to six ASDF bases where about 15 joint drills will be conducted in fiscal 2007.

    According to Kyodo, the six ASDF bases are in Chitose, Hokkaido; Misawa, Aomori prefecture; Hyakuri, Ibaraki prefecture; Komatsu, Ishikawa prefecture; Tsuiki, Fukuoka prefecture; and Nyutabaru, Miyazaki prefecture. Japan and the United States use the Misawa base jointly.