Japan Press Weekly

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2018 May 23 - 29 [US FORCES]

USFJ airdrops vehicles in spite of villagers' request to cancel the drills

The U.S. Marines on May 22, ignoring villagers' request for cancellation, carried out a drill to airdrop vehicles from an aircraft by parachute at Iejima Auxiliary Airport in Okinawa.

The Iejima village municipality through the Okinawa Defense Bureau had requested that the practice be cancelled. A village official became angry saying, "We all know that parachute drops of goods is beyond human control. So, it is especially dangerous to airdrop heavy items like vehicles."

The village mayor also told Akahata, "We don't want the U.S. military to conduct heavy drop operations. This is our village's position."

An eyewitness said, "A metallic barrel full of water had once landed off target outside the U.S. facility. An airdrop by parachute doesn't make much noise, so I'm concerned about the possibility that someone, unconscious of the danger, may someday be crushed under heavy cargo. As long as the Japan-U.S. security treaty exists, we are always in fear of our lives."

Past related article:
> US soldier accidentally parachutes onto private land [March 24, 2016]