US F-15 Crashes Near Japan

A US military F15 fighter jet crashed in waters off Japan’s southern island of Okinawa, where the bulk of US forces in Japan are based, during a routine training mission on Monday, US Forces Japan said in a statement. The pilot, the only person in the aircraft, ejected successfully and was recovered by search and rescue crews, the statement said. A board of officers would investigate the incident, it said, Reuters reported. “We have been notified that the pilot is in serious condition. Our hearts and prayers go to the pilot and his family as they go through this difficult time,” Kadena Air Base’ official Twitter account said. Many residents of Okinawa associate the US military bases with crime, accidents and pollution and want them moved off the island. A series of emergency landings and parts falling from US military aircraft have highlighted safety concerns. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government is moving ahead with a contentious plan to relocate the US Marines’ Futenma airbase from an urban area in central Okinawa to the less populated Henoko district of Nago city in the island’s north.