TOKYO: The United States has told Japan that it is conducting safety checks and preventive maintenance for Osprey military transport aircraft following a fatal crash last week, Japanese Defense Minister KIHARA Minoru  said Tuesday.

Japan is checking the effectiveness of the safety measures taken by the US military, Kihara said at a press conference.

“Concerns have not been allayed, so we need to continue to receive information” from the US side, he said.

The US military’s Osprey aircraft continue to fly in Japan even after the crash of the Air Force’s CV-22 Osprey off an island in the southern Japan prefecture of Kagoshima on Wednesday.

A total of 108 takeoffs and landings by US Marine Corps and Navy Ospreys were confirmed at the Futenma air station and Kadena Air Base, both in Okinawa Prefecture, and Amami Airport in Kagoshima between Wednesday and midnight Monday, according to Kihara.

JIJI Press