TOKYO – A US F15 fighter jet crashed off the southern coast of Japan onMonday but the pilot ejected and was rescued by Japanese forces, Tokyo’sdefence minister said.
The Japanese military “received information that a crew member of the F15jet, which belongs to the Kadena Air Base, ejected above the sea some 50miles (80 kilometers) south of” Naha, the regional capital of Japan´ssouthern Okinawa island, Itsunori Onodera told reporters.
About an hour after receiving the initial information, Japanese militaryofficials spotted and rescued the pilot who sustained”non-life-threatening” injuries, Onodera said.
Japan’s public broadcaster NHK said the rescued pilot had a broken leg.
Kadena is the largest US military base in Japan, and hosts around 47,000American troops under a decades-long security alliance.
A series of accidents involving US military aircraft have stoked tensionsand in January Defence Secretary James Mattis apologised to his Japanesecounterpart over the incidents.
They have included emergency landings by US military helicopters, a pieceof a helicopter falling on a Japanese school ground, and a deadly crashlast year of an MV-22 Osprey that forced a massive rescue operation.
The US military is investigating the cause of the latest accident “but I’verequested they share information with us and that they take firm safetymeasures to prevent a repeat,” Onodera said.
There was no immediate report of other damage caused by the incident, theminister added.
Residents of Okinawa, which hosts the bulk of American troops in Japan,have protested against the deployment of Ospreys because of repeatedaccidents.
A series of crimes including rapes, assaults and hit-and-run anddrink-driving accidents by US personnel have also triggered protests onOkinawa, and are a frequent irritant in relations between close securityallies Japan and the United States.