Osprey Report: A Life or Death Problem for Okinawa

It is readily apparent how reckless the deployment of the MV22 Osprey will be. The report given by the U.S. to the Japanese government says that human error was the cause of the April accident in Morocco. However, mayors of Takeshi Onaga Naha City and Atsushi Sakima Ginowan City are under the impression that “everything is fixed,” or that “their explanations are so from the perspective that their only option is deployment.”

This problem, as Mr. Onaga says, is “using a bayonet to fight a bulldozer.” If the U.S. and Japanese governments want to stress the importance of the U.S.-Japan relationship, they must stop the deployment now, while the damage to their reputation is still light.

The report states that the Osprey converting from vertical flight mode to forward flight mode with a tailwind caused the pilot to lose control. The report also stressed that this action is against military regulations.

However, the fact that one mistake in procedure can directly lead to an accident speaks to the danger of this aircraft. In short, this is an aircraft extremely susceptible to even one small mistake.

Regarding the known defects of the Osprey’s auto-rotation function, the Japanese government’s analysis team has said, “Although this is garnering a lot of attention in Japan, this measure is only used when both rotors have stopped.” They talk as if this was not recognized as a major problem.

If this is not a major problem, why is it that the aviation laws of both the U.S. and Japan make the lack of this function illegal? Why is it that the Defense Ministry has continued with false explanations? The government’s explanation is incoherent.

The words of former Deputy Secretary of Defense Richard Lee Armitage should not be ignored. With regards to the burden the Ospreys will put on Okinawa, he stated, “Don’t let Ospreys take the place of a larger interest and relationship, and a larger alliance.” He is saying that any burden placed on Okinawa is just collateral damage.

These words express the view that the damage caused by military maneuvers is inevitable. It would be more accurate to say that the few will be sacrificed for the benefit of many — certainly militaristic logic.

This statement also comes to the defense of the military industrial complex. It should perhaps be called a greedy military supremacy doctrine. Okinawa should not be made the sacrifice of this logic.

Amos, the USMC Commandant, has said that the deployment of the Osprey is a matter of life or death. However, those whose lives are on the line are those of the Okinawan people. The U.S. should recognize that protesting the deployment is something that the Okinawan people cannot give up.