Japan starts deploying Osprey fleet at a new base to beef up southwestern defense

HIROSHIMA Japan AP The Japanese army on Wednesday began deploying its fleet of V- Ospreys on a newly-opened permanent base in southwestern Japan the country s latest move to beef up its defense amid growing tension in the region The first of the fleet of Ospreys safely arrived at its new home base of Camp Saga Japan s Ground Self-Defense Force explained Wednesday The move is part of Japan s accelerating military buildup especially in the southwest in latest years as a deterrence to China s increasingly assertive maritime actions in the area The tilt-rotor aircraft have been temporarily based at Camp Kisarazu near Tokyo since during construction of the base and other necessary facilities The rest of the fleet is scheduled to complete its relocation in mid-August the JGSDF agents stated With the full permanent deployment at Camp Saga Japan plans to operate the Ospreys more closely with the country s amphibious rapid deployment brigade at Ainoura in the nearby naval town of Sasebo as part of the ongoing plan to reinforce the defense of southwestern remote islands Defense Minister Gen Nakatani recounted reporters Tuesday The prevention climate surrounding Japan has been increasingly severe and it is our pressing task to strengthen our island defense capabilities he explained Camp Saga ground forces also work with helicopters based at another nearby camp Metabaru as well as with air force and navy personnel based in the area The use of the V- remains controversial in Japan especially in southern Japan due to a series of accidents involving the aircraft In November a U S Air Force Osprey crashed off Japan s southern coast killing eight people In October a Japanese army V- Osprey tilted and hit the ground while attempting to take off during a joint exercise with the U S military and an analysis has identified human error was the cause Source