Saga Mayor OKs Osprey Deployment to Airport in City

Tokyo, Feb. 27 (Jiji Press)--The mayor of Saga said Monday that he will accept the deployment of the Ground Self-Defense Force's Osprey transport aircraft to an airport in the southwestern Japan city.

Mayor Hidetaka Sakai expressed his support for Osprey deployment to Saga Airport in a press conference. Earlier, he met Japanese State Defense Minister Toshiro Ino at the city office to give notice of his acceptance.

The Saga prefectural government has already said that it will accept the deployment of Osprey aircraft.

The Defense Ministry will begin obtaining the necessary land for the deployment. The ministry plans to build a new camp spanning about 33 hectares to the west of the airport and station 17 Ospreys there.

"I have determined that accepting deployment is the only option, after considering the matter from the perspectives of citizen safety and the importance of national defense," Sakai said at the press conference.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]