The United States is going ahead with a plan to deploy its Osprey military transport aircraft to Japan despite strong opposition from residents over safety issues.
A city official in Iwakuni, where the aircraft are to be briefly stationed before their deployment on the southern island of Okinawa, said Wednesday the first 12 Ospreys have left port in San Diego and are expected to arrive by the end of the month.
Protests against the deployment have increased since two recent crashes of the tilt-rotor aircraft raised safety concerns.
Washington has tried to ease the concerns. In a briefing with senior Japanese officials last week, the Pentagon said the crashes, in Morocco in April and in Florida last month, did not appear to be caused by mechanical failure.
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