Japan Press Weekly

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2019 November 6 - 12 [US FORCES]

Shii calls for banning flights of US military aircraft tainted with disciplinary violations

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on November 7 at a press conference in the Diet building said that the Japanese government should lodge a protest with the U.S. military against widespread violations of discipline among pilots and should demand the suspension of flights of all U.S. military aircraft.

This remark was made in regard to an investigation report which the U.S. forces released on September 26 regarding the fatal crash involving two U.S. warplanes off Kochi at the end of 2018. The report revealed that U.S. military pilots have been committing grave breaches of discipline, such as reading during flights.

Shii also urged the Japanese government to request the U.S. forces to take effective measures to prevent a recurrence of such accidents.

At the press conference, Shii said that when the Defense Ministry in the middle of last month provided an explanation about the U.S. forces’ report to Kochi, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Okinawa, and other local governments related to the 2018 December crash, the ministry hid information regarding the disciplinary violations. Shii strongly criticized the ministry for insisting that U.S. military pilots’ unprofessional conducts were not directly linked to the crash.

Furthermore, Shii cited that regarding the issue of discipline violations by U.S. military pilots, Defense Minister Kono Taro at a press conference on November 5 showed no intention to make a complaint against the U.S. forces and request a ban on flights. Shii expressed his determination to push Kono to fulfill his ministerial duties.

Past related article:
> 2 US military aircraft collide with each other and crash into sea off Kochi [December 7 and 8, 2018]