American made MV-22 Ospreys may one day be flying over the skies of not only Okinawa, but mainland Japan as well, and there by Japanese Air Self Defense Forces.

Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto indicated a possibility this week that the Self-Defense Forces may be equipped with U.S. Osprey aircraft, but added there would be no immediate introduction.  “The Defense Ministry has not yet completely closed the door to that possibility,” Morimoto told a press conference, responding to views within the government that the SDF should possess the MV-22 Osprey aircraft.

Morimoto said the ministry is studying about how the introduction of the tilt-rotor transport aircraft would influence Japan’s national security, indicating his ministry plans to make a careful examination of the safety concerns posed by Ospreys as well as the cost-effectiveness of introducing the aircraft.

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