TOKYO, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government and local authorities expressed their disappointment and insisted the U.S. military suspend a parachute drill conducted Thursday at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa amid safety concerns.
The drill was described as "disappointing" by Japan's Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, who said he will implore the U.S. military to carry out their parachuting drills on Ie Island, which is also in Okinawa but far less populated than Kadena, which is located on the densely populated main island.
The Mayor of Kadena, Hiroshi Toyama, told a press briefing on the matter that the drill was intolerable and disregarded the sentiments of local residents living near the base.
"It is an act that ignores the voices of residents near the base. We can never tolerate it," Toyama was quoted as telling local media.
Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga, for his part, told reporters he was "indignant at repeated U.S. parachuting drills at Kadena base."
In 1965, in the Okinawa village of Yomitan, an elementary school girl was crushed to death by a trailer being parachuted down by the U.S. military during a drill.
The young girl's horrific death has not been forgotten by Okinawans or local authorities, and similar drills held recently have sparked renewed safety concerns.
Under a 1996 Japan-U.S. accord, the U.S. military's parachute exercises in Okinawa should take place at the Ie Jima Auxiliary Airfield.
The drills can only be held at Kadena base as an "exception."
The central government here said that it did not receive sufficient explanation from the U.S. military as to why it used Kadena base.
The early morning drill on Thursday saw 16 U.S. military personnel parachute down to the base from an MC-130 aircraft.
The aircraft are used by the U.S. military for missions including infiltration, exfiltration, and the resupplying of special operations forces.
The U.S. military held a parachuting drill at the Kadena base both in April and May, much to the consternation of local citizens and authorities, and the central government.
