Japan retrieves body of one of two service members whose training plane crashed
The crash comes at a time when Japan is accelerating a military build up to deter China’s growing influence in the region.
Japanese defence officials said they have recovered the remains of one of two crew members who went missing after their military training aircraft crashed earlier this week.
The air force T-4 aircraft carrying two service members crashed into a reservoir on Wednesday, minutes after taking off from Komaki Air Base in the central Japanese prefecture of Aichi.
On Friday, after two days of searching, rescuers recovered “what appears to be the body of a crew member” and transported it to Komaki base for examination, defence minister Gen Nakatani told reporters.
The air force grounded all remaining 196 of the training planes and began their emergency inspection on Thursday.
The crash is the latest in a series of defence aircraft accidents in recent years and comes at a time when Japan is accelerating a military build up to deter China’s growing influence in the region.
Japan has doubled its defence spending, raising concern that funding for weapons may be prioritised over safety measures.
The crashed plane was 36-years-old and was not fitted with a voice recorder or a flight data recorder.
