JCP in Kagoshima demands a halt to U.S. low-altitude flight training exercises
The Japanese Communist Party in Kagoshima Prefecture demanded that the prefectural government move in protest against the U.S. Air Force's low-altitude flight training exercises with MC-130 transport aircraft.
JCP representatives, including members of the prefectural assembly, on October 16 visited the Kagoshima Prefectural Government office and filed a request that Governor Ito Yuichiro take steps to halt the training exercises.
Matsuzaki Makoto, a prefectural assembly member, showed photos of U.S. MC-130s flying at an altitude of just 147 meters, alleging that the U.S. forces are violating Japan's Aviation Law that bans flights at an altitude less than 300 meters.
Matsuzaki cited nearby residents' complaints such as: "I thought it was crashing; Small children began crying and screaming." She stressed that U.S. MC-130s are tasked to transport Green Berets and other strike forces in military interventions.
She demanded that the governor file a tough grievance against the U.S. Forces in Japan so that such dangerous operations be prohibited.
- Akahata, October 17, 2009