Many members stationed at Self-Defense Forces facilities welcomed the Cabinet decision to approve three key security-related documents Friday, as the forces have been long plagued by budget shortfalls and other problems.
KANOYA, Kagoshima Prefecture Deploying eyes to the sky over troubled waters, the U.S. Air Force began launching its MQ-9 Reaper drones from the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Kanoya Air Base here on Nov. 21.
The Air Force has expressed sympathy for a Japanese high school girl struck by a U.S. airman’s car days before his newly formed drone squadron began operating from her city on Kyushu island.
An Air Force unit recently deployed to southern Japan demonstrated an MQ-9 Reaper drone for Japanese government officials over the weekend, partly to ease community concerns about the newcomer aircraft.