Japan, US fighter jets stage joint drill after N. Korea's missile launch

TOKYO -- Japan's Ministry of Defense conducted a joint drill on Oct. 4 between the Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) and United States Forces Japan over the sea off the western Kyushu region.

A total of 12 fighters from both sides participated. It is believed that the drill was intended to hold North Korea in check after it launched a missile that passed over the Japanese archipelago earlier the same day.

The ASDF participated with four F-15 fighters from Nyutabaru Air Base in Miyazaki Prefecture and four F-2 fighters from Tsuiki Air Base in Fukuoka Prefecture, while the U.S. military dispatched four F-35B stealth fighters from Iwakuni Air Base in Yamaguchi Prefecture.

(Japanese original by Toshiaki Uchihashi, Tokyo City News Department)