US suspends helicopter flights after Japan crash (on campus)

[Nambe]

TOKYO (AFP)

The United States suspended flights of CH-53D military helicopters in Japan, bowing to protests over a crash in an Okinawa university campus.

The United States, which has thousands of troops stationed on the southern island, had previously ignored requests to ground the aircraft after a CH-53D swiped a campus building before crashing into university grounds in a built-up area on August 13. ..

Six CH-53Ds took off from Okinawa last Sunday despite Tokyo's insistence the craft be grounded until preventive measures were taken and an official explanation given.

Ginowan Mayor Yoichi Iha protested to the US over the resumption of flights.

Around 44,600 US troops are based in Japan, two-thirds of whom are stationed in Okinawa where tensions run high over their presence.