TOKYO – The Ground Self-Defense Force on Wednesday opened a new camp in southwestern Japan to host its fleet of Osprey transport aircraft, part of efforts to strengthen defenses of remote islands due to fears over China’s increasing military ambitions.
The first V-22 Osprey is expected to arrive later in the day at the new Camp Saga, in the prefecture of the same name on the main island of Kyushu, transferring from Camp Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo. The GSDF’s tilt-rotor aircraft have been temporarily based there since July 2020.
Operations at the new camp, staffed by about 420 personnel, begin as safety concerns linger following a series of Osprey accidents in Japan and abroad, including a fatal crash two years ago.
Ospreys can take off and land like helicopters but cruise like airplanes. The primary mission of the V-22 unit is to transport personnel and equipment for the GSDF’s Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade in the event of an emergency.
Dubbed the Japanese Marines, the brigade is based in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, adjacent to Saga, and specializes in defending remote islands.
The relocation of the Ospreys reflects Tokyo’s recent focus on bolstering deterrence and response capabilities in the southwestern Nansei island chain, a strategically vital area due to its proximity to the potential geopolitical flashpoint of Taiwan.
China considers Taiwan a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary. It has stepped up military pressure on the self-ruled democratic island and increased maritime assertiveness in the East and South China seas.
The GSDF plans to transfer the remaining 16 Ospreys from Chiba to Saga in several waves by mid-August, landing the aircraft on the runway of the prefecture’s main commercial airport, located next to Camp Saga.
The U.S. military also deploys Ospreys in Japan. In November 2023, one crashed off Yakushima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture in southwestern Japan during a routine training flight, killing all eight crew members.
