U.S. military and GSDF to resume Osprey flights in Japan as early as Thursday

The U.S. military and Self-Defense Forces plan to resume flights of the controversial Osprey aircraft as early as Thursday, the Defense Ministry has said, following the lifting last week of a global flight ban in the wake of a deadly accident in southwestern Japan last November.

According to the ministry, the U.S. military branches operating the aircraft in Japan — the Marines and Air Force — will resume operations of the aircraft in accordance with their respective guidelines.

Both the U.S. military and the Ground Self-Defense Force, which also grounded its fleet of 14 MV-22 Ospreys following the deadly Nov. 29 crash of a U.S. Air Force CV-22 into waters off Kagoshima Prefecture, are planning to take “a phased approach” to recovering their flight skills and implementing safety measures, the Defense Ministry said.