Okinawa Gov. Onaga denounces US military as 'crazy' after latest chopper incident

NAHA -- Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga did not hide his rage after a U.S. military AH-1 attack helicopter made an emergency landing in a prefectural village on Jan. 23, saying that U.S. military forces have become "crazy."

"The U.S. military is out of control. There is absolutely no sign of improvement no matter how much we protest," Onaga told reporters at Naha Airport on Jan. 24. He criticized the U.S. forces as "crazy," referring to the comment made earlier by Lt. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson when the top commander of the U.S. military in Okinawa called the repeated accidents involving U.S. aircraft "crazy."

Meanwhile, Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono talked to U.S. Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty on the morning of Jan. 24 and demanded fundamental measures to prevent recurrences, telling the ambassador that it was "extremely regrettable" that accidents involving U.S. military aircraft are occurring so frequently.