Tokyo: U.S. MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance drones will be stationed permanently at the U.S. military’s Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan, after they are relocated from Kagoshima Prefecture, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said Tuesday.

The drones are set to conduct intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance activities for an unspecified period after the relocation, Kihara told a press conference.

The planned relocation is expected to allow the drones to conduct their activities more efficiently thanks to their enhanced access to the Nansei southwestern Japan region, he said.

The Japanese government believes that the burden on Okinawa of hosting the drones, such as aircraft noise, will be limited, Kihara said.

“We’ll continue to work on minimizing the impact as much as possible,” he said of the drone deployment.

Eight Reapers have been stationed at the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Kanoya air base in Kagoshima since November last year for a one-year period.

JIJI Press