The chief of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces has apologized for the crash of an F-35A fighter jet off the coast of Aomori Prefecture.
The SDF Chief of Staff, Koji Yamazaki, made the apology at a news conference on Thursday.
The F-35A from the Air Self-Defense Force’s Misawa base in the prefecture crashed on Tuesday evening. The ASDF says the missing pilot is a 41-year-old major, Akinori Hosomi, who belongs to the base.
Yamazaki said he was deeply sorry for causing concern to local communities and people across Japan. He said search and rescue operations will continue around the clock. But he stopped short of discussing how the accident may affect the plan to deploy more of the stealth jet fighters.
Yamazaki said the SDF intends to use the aircraft for scrambling and other operations after personnel have had sufficient training. He added that more thought will be given to the matter while the accident is investigated.
Yamazaki also said the SDF will keep a close watch on the movements of vessels from neighboring nations. He indicated that efforts are being made to protect information about the cutting-edge aircraft, which is also being introduced in the US and other countries.