JCP lodges protest over parts falling from U.S. fighter jet in Kanagawa

Japan Press Weekly

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JCP lodges protest over parts falling from U.S. fighter jet in Kanagawa

Representatives of Kanagawa's Japanese Communist Party, JCP local assembly members, and peace committee members on February 18 lodged a protest to the U.S. Forces in Japan over the fall of rubber-made parts from F/A-18 fighter/attack aircraft in Ayase City, Kanagawa Prefecture.

The F/A-18 Hornet is a single- and two-seat, twin engine, multi-mission fighter/attack aircraft that can operate from either aircraft carriers or land bases. They are based at the U.S. Naval Atsugi Air Facility.

The protesters demanded that the U.S. Navy suspend all F/A-18 flights over residential areas.

On February 17, a rubber seal fell off F/A-18 that took off from the U.S. aircraft carrier George Washington. It was a 240 centimeter long 250 gram rubber seal attached near a main flap.

It fell on the Yoshioka water purification plant about one kilometer from a high-speed railway.

A resident who signed the petition said, "We've long been disturbed by sonic booms from U.S. aircraft flying over the residential area near the U.S. Atsugi air base. The parts drop incident has added fuel to our fears."

Another resident stated that on July 19, 2004, a U.S. anti-sub helicopter accidentally dropped a case with 200 machine gun bullets onto a residential area in Izumi Ward, Yokohama City.

The petition pointed out that since 1952, in Kanagawa prefecture alone, at least sixty cases of objects falling from U.S. aircraft have occurred and that they could have been fatal if they had fallen on people.

The participants emphasized that the cause of the recent incident must be thoroughly investigated and countermeasures be taken, and that the U.S. must halt further flights until the investigation is completed.

The petition was addressed to the commander of the U.S. Forces in Japan and the commander of the U.S. Naval Atsugi air base.

Kanagawa's liaison conference on U.S. bases, headed by Governor Matsuzawa Shigefumi as well as Ayase's mayor made similar protests on the day of the incident.

- Akahata, February 19, 2009